2024-05-01 16:18:25
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Wednesday that the Middle East crisis will not be resolved by normalization between Arab countries and Israel, as the United States continues its efforts to conclude an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel. Arabia and the Hebrew State despite the war in Gaza.
Khamenei said while receiving a group of educators on Teachers’ Day: “Some people think the problem will be solved if they go to neighboring countries and urge them to normalize relations with the “Zionist entity,” according to statements posted on its website.
He added: “No, they are wrong; West Asia’s problems will not be resolved until Palestine is returned to its original owners! »
The statements by Khamenei, the archenemy of the United States and Israel, come two days following US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken confirmed that Washington was close to concluding a security agreement with Riyadh that would benefit him. presented if he normalized his relations with Israel.
“Close to completion” Washington comments on “Saudi-Israeli normalization” efforts
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Monday during a discussion session at the World Economic Forum in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, that Saudi-US bilateral work related to normalization with Israel “is likely to be close to completion.” be completed.” .”
The administration of US President Joe Biden is seeking a normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel, completing a path started during the time of his predecessor, Donald Trump, and which, as of 2020, has resulted in the signing of agreements between the two countries. Jewish state and several Arab countries, namely the Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
Discussions regarding the Saudi-Israeli deal were affected by the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip on October 7, following an attack by the movement on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of around 1,170 people, the majority of whom were civilians, according to an Agence France-Presse count based on official Israeli figures.
Saudi Arabia has sharply criticized Israel’s retaliatory war in the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 34,000 people, mostly women and children, according to Hamas health authorities.
Riyadh has said it will not establish relations with Israel until Israeli forces withdraw from the besieged strip and an agreement is reached on the creation of a Palestinian state.
Tehran had previously criticized the normalization agreements and considered them a “betrayal” of the Palestinian cause, support for which has been one of the declared pillars of the Islamic Republic’s policies since the victory of the revolution in 1979.
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