Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday accused the United Arab Emirates of betraying the Muslim world with its agreement to normalize relations with Israel, saying the “treason” was a “stain” on the country.
“The UAE betrayed the world of Islam, the Arab nations, the region’s countries, and Palestine,” said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “The treason will not last for long.”
“The Emiratis will be disgraced forever,” he said in his first reaction to the agreement between the UAE and Israel. “I hope they wake up and compensate for what they did.”
“The UAE rulers opened the door of the region to the Zionists,” Khamenei said.
Khamenei made his comments as an Israeli-US delegation wrapped up a landmark visit to Abu Dhabi.
Emirati and Israeli officials discuss future cooperation agreements in Abu Dhabi on August 31, 2020 (Amos Ben-Gershom/GPO)
Israel and the UAE announced on August 13 that they were establishing full diplomatic relations, in a US-brokered deal that required Israel to suspend its plan to annex parts of the West Bank.
The UAE is just the third Arab country to agree to establish official relations with Israel, after Egypt and Jordan. Israeli and American officials have expressed hope that other Gulf Arab countries will soon follow suit, with relations based on mutual commercial and security interests and shared enmity toward Iran. READ MORE
