Iran’s Raisi calls Saudi normalization with Israel ‘reactionary and regressive’

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi denounces any attempts by regional countries to normalize relations with its arch-enemy Israel as “reactionary and regressive.”

The remarks come amid ongoing US-brokered negotiations between Israel and Saudi Arabia to establish formal ties, with the United States saying on Friday that the two countries are moving towards the outline of a deal.

“Normalizing relations with the Zionist regime is a reactionary and regressive move by any government in the Islamic world,” Raisi says during an international Islamic conference held in Tehran.

Raisi further labels any normalization attempt as the “foreigners’ desire,” while stating that “surrender and compromise” regarding Israel are not on the table.

“The only option for all the fighters in the occupied land and the Islamic world is to resist and stand against the enemies,” he says, reiterating Iran’s position that Jerusalem must be “liberated.”