Iran’s Khamenei: Muslim nations reject ‘humiliation’ of compromise with Israel
Islamic Republic’s supreme leader attacks idea of other Muslim nations normalizing with Jewish state, issues ominous warning to any with plans to do so
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lashed out at the idea of Muslim nations compromising with Israel, calling it a “humiliation,” and issued an ominous warning to nations seeking to normalize ties with the Jewish state.
“Muslim nations will never accept the humiliation of compromising with the Zionist regime,” Khamenei tweeted Tuesday.
In recent months, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain became the first Arab nations to establish relations with Israel since Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. 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.
In his tweet, Khamenei targeted US foreign policy attempts to bridge the gap between Muslim nations and Israel in the absence of a formal agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. “If the US thinks they can solve the region’s problem in this way, they are wrong,” he said.
Muslim nations will never accept the humiliation of compromising with the Zionist regime. If the US thinks they can solve the region’s problem in this way, they are wrong. The status of any regime that negotiates with the usurping Zionist regime will be shaken before its nation.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) October 20, 2020
In a seeming warning to other Muslim nations that may normalize ties with Israel, Khamenei said, “The status of any regime that negotiates with the usurping Zionist regime will be shaken before its nation.”
Khamenei’s allusion to regimes that negotiate with Israel comes after much speculation that Sudan will be the next Muslim country to normalize relations with the Jewish state.
Earlier this month, Sudanese deputy head of state Gen. Mohammad Hamdan Daglo said that his country would likely soon establish ties of some nature with Jerusalem, saying that Khartoum needed Israel and would benefit from relations.
It was not the first time the Iranian supreme leader has publicly denounced the idea of normalizing relations with Israel.
In September Khamenei accused the United Arab Emirates of betraying the Muslim world with its agreement to normalize relations with the Jewish state, 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,” he said. “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.”
Aaron Boxerman and agencies contributed to this report.