Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says the US-devised roadmap for the Middle East conflict known as the "deal of the century" will lead nowhere, slamming Saudi Arabia and Bahrain as ground makers of "such an evil plot."
Khamenei made the comments as part of his Eid al-Fitr sermon delivered to worshippers in the capital city of Tehran. He said the deal will never succeed, and he expressed gratitude toward Arab countries and Palestinian factions for standing up to it. The Iranian leader also touched upon a planned economic conference in Bahrain set to be focused on the same deal. He advised Bahraini and Saudi officials to beware that they were stepping in a "quagmire" by pushing for the US plan and asserted that the Saudis still had a chance to "repent" and "correct" their approach.