Trump will fail in his ‘crusader, Zionist’ peace plan, top Iranian official says

TEHRAN, Iran — A close adviser to Iran’s supreme leader on Thursday described the US peace plan as a continuation of the objectives of “crusaders and Zionists.”

The plan, announced Tuesday by US President Donald Trump, consists of “selling and dismantling Muslim lands,” said Ali Akbar Velayati, who advises Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on foreign policy issues.

Trump’s “objective is the realization of the goal of the crusaders and Zionists,” Velayati said during a brief press conference in Tehran.

The US plan, seen as overwhelmingly supportive of Israeli goals, has been firmly rejected by the Palestinians.

It grants the Jewish state full control of Jerusalem and, according to Israeli and US officials, gives it an American green light to annex key parts of the West Bank, including in the strategic Jordan Valley.

US President Donald Trump meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alongside US Vice President Mike Pence (C), US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (2nd R) and White House adviser Jared Kushner (R) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, January 27, 2020. (Saul Loeb/AFP)

“Trump will fail in this plan, just like he has failed in his previous anti-Islamic plans,” the former Iranian foreign minister added, saying its announcement had already united Palestinian leaders “like never before in the history of their battle.”

“The Islamic Republic will certainly not remain silent,” Velayati said.

“The Iranian people, guided by the supreme leader, continue to consider the Palestinian question as the principal concern of the Muslim world.”

Iran will continue its consultations with “Arab countries that remain faithful to the Palestinian cause,” he added.

On Tuesday evening, Iran’s foreign ministry called Trump’s plan “the treason of the century” and said it was “doomed to fail.”