Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday denounced any attempts byregional countries to normalise relations with its arch-enemy Israel as“reactionary and regressive”.
The remarks came amid ongoing US-brokered negotiations between Israel andSaudi Arabia to establish formal ties, with the United States saying onFriday that the two countries are moving towards the outline of a deal.
“Normalising relations with the Zionist regime is a reactionary andregressive move by any government in the Islamic world,” Raisi said duringan international Islamic conference held in Tehran.
An Israeli delegation is expected in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, days after thefirst official visit by an Israeli minister to the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia also sent a delegation to the occupied West Bank on Wednesdayfor the first time in three decades in a bid to reassure the Palestiniansahead of the prospective deal.
Raisi on Sunday further labelled any normalisation attempt as the“foreigners’ desire”, while stating that “surrender and compromise”regarding Israel were not on the table.
“The only option for all the fighters in the occupied land and the Islamicworld is to resist and stand against the enemies,” he said, reiteratingIran’s position that Jerusalem must be “liberated”.
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In 1967 Israel occupied and then annexed East Jerusalem, which thePalestinians see as the future capital of their proposed state.
An agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia would follow the US-brokeredAbraham Accords which saw Israel establish diplomatic relations in 2020with three Arab countries.
Last month, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Raisisaid any “relationships between regional countries and the Zionist regimewould be a stab in the back of the Palestinians.”
Iran and Saudi Arabia, two regional powerhouses, resumed relations, severedsince 2016, under a China-brokered deal announced in March. -APP/AFP
