UAE’s deal with Israel ‘huge mistake’, ‘treacherous act’: Iran

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has termed the United Arab Emirates deal with Israel as a “huge mistake”.

In a televised speech condemning what he called a betrayal by the Gulf state, Rouhani warned the UAE against allowing Israel a “foothold in the region”.

“They (the UAE) better be mindful. They have committed a huge mistake, a treacherous act. We hope they will realise this and abandon this wrong path,” Rouhani said without elaborating, Reuters reported.

The Iranian daily Kayhan, whose editor-in-chief is appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said “the UAE has turned itself into a legitimate target for the resistance”, according to its website.

In a front-page comment, the newspaper Kayhan said: “The UAE’s great betrayal of the Palestinian people …, will turn this small, rich country which is heavily dependent on security into a ‘legitimate and easy target’ for the resistance.”

Iran often refers to militant forces and regional countries opposed to Israel and the United States as a “resistance” front.

Rouhani said the deal seemed aimed at ensuring that Trump wins another term in the U.S. presidential election in November and referred to the fact that it was announced in Washington.

“Why then did it happen now? If it weren’t a wrong deal, why was it then announced in a third country, in America? So a gentleman in Washington wins votes, you betray your country, your people, Muslims and the Arab world?”

Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards Corps said in a statement the UAE-Israel deal would “accelerate the process of the destruction of the child-killing Zionist regime (Israel)”.