Arab deals with Israel predictably rile Iran
The normalization of ties between Israel and two Arab states has left the Islamic Republic uneasy in a region where it is surrounded by more adversaries than allies.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif argued that US-brokered deals to normalize ties between Israel and two Persian Gulf States — Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates — were just “a campaign photo” that President Donald Trump “desperately” needs for reelection in November.
In a tweet, Zarif said that he was not surprised by the agreements as Washington’s Arab allies in the Middle East have been Israel’s de facto allies for years. The Iranian foreign minister also accused Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, of “blackmailing” America’s “regional clients” into the deals.
It was not the first time that Iranian authorities have called Kushner an architect of what Tehran views as “American-Zionist plots” in the Middle East. Earlier this month, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei referred to “the Jew in the Trump family” and one of the “dirty elements in the United States” who is acting “against the interests of the Islamic world.” In a scathing speech, Khamenei rebuked Emirati officials for their “treason,” which he said will leave behind an everlasting “mark of disgrace.”
The ultraconservative paper Kayhan, run by Khamenei’s office, blasted both Bahrain and the UAE for betraying the blood of Palestinians by signing the accord on the anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacre that left as many as 3,500 Palestinian refugees and Lebanese Shiites dead in Beirut back in 1982. The killings were perpetrated by the Phalange militia, operated under the Israel Defense Forces.
