Khamenei implicitly criticizes normalization talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic believes that the Middle East crisis will not be solved by normalization between Arab countries and Israel
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stated today, Wednesday, that the Middle East crisis will not be resolved by normalization between Arab countries and Israel, at a time when the United States continues its efforts to reach an agreement between Saudi Arabia and the Jewish state.
Khamenei said during a reception with educators on Teacher’s Day: “Some people think that the problem will be solved if they go to neighboring countries and encourage them to normalize their relations with the Zionist entity,” according to statements published on his website, adding “No, they are mistaken; the problems of the Middle East will not be solved unless Palestine returns to its original owners!”
The statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, a sworn enemy of the United States and Israel, come two days after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that Washington is nearing the completion of a security agreement with Riyadh that would be presented to it if it normalized relations with Israel.
The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is seeking to conclude a normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel, continuing a process that began under his predecessor, Donald Trump, which resulted in the signing of agreements between the Jewish state and several Arab countries in 2020, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.
Talks on the Saudi-Israeli agreement were affected by the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip on October 7, following an attack by the latter on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of about 1170 people, mostly civilians, according to a count by Agence France-Presse based on Israeli official figures.
Saudi Arabia strongly criticized Israel’s retaliatory war in the Gaza Strip, which resulted in the deaths of more than 34,000 people, most of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry affiliated with Hamas.
Riyadh said it would not establish relations with Israel until Israeli forces withdrew from the besieged territory and an agreement was reached on establishing a Palestinian state.
Tehran has previously criticized normalization agreements, calling them a “betrayal” of the Palestinian cause, a declared supporter of the Islamic Republic’s policy since the victory of the revolution in 1979.
The Supreme Leader added today, Wednesday: “Palestine belongs to the Palestinian people, Muslims, Christians, and Jews alike. Let them return Palestine to its inhabitants and establish their own regime, then let that regime decide how to deal with the Zionists, whether to expel them or keep them,” repeating Iran’s critical position regarding police intervention on American university campuses to suppress movements supporting Palestinians.
He said, “University students did not chant slogans encouraging riots, they did not kill anyone, and they did not set fire anywhere, and they are treated like this!”, adding “The treatment of the American government towards university students shows Washington’s involvement with the Zionist entity in the greatest genocide in Gaza”.
