Iran has condmened the deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates which establishes full diplomatic relations between the two countries.
In a statement on Friday, the Iranian foreign Ministry tagged the normalising of ties between the two countries a dangerous, “shameful” measure and warned the UAE against Israel interfering in the “political equations” of the Gulf region.
“The UAE government and other accompanying governments must accept responsibility for all the consequences of this action,” the statement said.
The move was an act of “strategic stupidity from Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv that will undoubtedly strengthen the resistance axis in the region”, it added.
“The oppressed people of Palestine and all the free nations of the world will never forgive the normalising of relations with the criminal Israeli occupation regime and the complicity in its crimes.”
The Deal
In a deal brokered by the US, the UAE and Israel announced on Thursday they agreed to establish full diplomatic ties and Israel will delay plans for annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state.
The agreement makes the UAE the first Gulf Arab state – and the third Arab country after Egypt and Jordan – to have full diplomatic ties with Israel. They announced it in a joint statement, saying deals between Israel and the UAE were expected in the coming weeks in such areas as tourism, direct flights and embassies.
The ministry statement called the deal a “dagger that was unjustly struck by the UAE in the backs of the Palestinian people and all Muslims”.
The agreement delivered a key foreign policy victory for US President Donald Trump as he seeks re-election and reflected a changing Middle East, in which shared concerns about Iran have largely overtaken traditional Arab support for the Palestinians.
The deal amounts to “treason” and should be reversed, said Hossein Amirabdollahian, an adviser to Iran’s parliament speaker.
“UAE’s new approach for normalising ties w/fake, criminal #Israel doesn’t maintain peace & security but serves ongoing Zionists’ crimes,” he tweeted on Friday.
Iran’s former chief of the powerful Revolutionary Guard, Mohsen Rezaei, said on Twitter the UAE has been making itself “the paradise of Israel” for the last 10 years.
“No Muslim zealous warriors and no Arabs betray Palestine, only nerveless stabs from behind,” he said.
Rezaei accused the UAE of working with Israel’s spy agency Mossad to create “espionage and intelligence networks” in the region.
UAE officials said they hope the newly signed deal will “change the dynamics” towards Israel’s annexation of Palestinian lands but stressed it will be a long process.
“I don’t think anything is written in stone,” said UAE official Omar Ghobash. “Even treaties and agreements written into the law don’t necessarily stand the test of time, again we are opening a door, we are hoping that the Israelis will see the benefits to this step and the many other steps that could follow from regional countries.”
