Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Iran leader condemns US Mideast plan as 'great betrayal'

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday slammed a US Middle East peace plan as a "great betrayal of the Islamic world," and warned Gulf rivals not to back it.
Washington is gearing up to roll out economic aspects of its long-awaited plan for peace between the Israelis and the Palestinian Authority (PA) -- dubbed the "deal of the century" -- at a conference in Bahrain later this month.
 
"The aim of this conference is to realize America's traitorous, dastardly plan on Palestine which they have named the 'deal of the century'," Khomeini said in a live television address at prayers for the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
 
"The 'deal of the century' will, God willing, never take root... this is a great betrayal of the Islamic world. We hope the leaders of Bahrain and Saudi (Arabia) will realize into what a quagmire they are stepping and how harmful it will be for their future."
 
The peace plan, fronted by US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, has already been rejected by the PA, which claims the White House's policies have been blatantly biased in favor of Israel.
 
US allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are set to attend the Bahrain conference on June 25-26, but the PA is boycotting it and have encouraged other Arab states to stay away.