Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused the United Arab Emirates of “treason” after the Gulf nation struck a normalization deal with Israel.
“The Emiratis will be disgraced forever,” Khamenei said in his first remarks on the matter. “I hope they wake up and compensate for what they did.”
“The UAE betrayed the world of Islam, the Arab nations, the region’s countries, and Palestine,” the aging leader said, according to the Times of Israel. “The treason will not last for long.”
Khamenei spoke one day after an El Al Israel Airlines plane, emblazoned with a Star of David and equipped with a missile-defense system, landed in the UAE for the first time. The plane was carrying a delegation of Israeli and U.S. officials, including President Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner. While private jets have flown between the two countries in the past for back-channel talks, Monday’s landing marked the first direct commercial flight.
Khamenei also hit directly at Kushner on Tuesday, noting the fact that he is Jewish.
“The nation of Palestine is under various, severe pressures. Then, the UAE acts in agreement with the Israelis & filthy Zionist agents of the U.S. —such as the Jewish member of Trump’s family— with utmost cruelty against the interests of the World of Islam,” he tweeted, adding the hashtag #UAEStabsMuslims.
The nation of Palestine is under various, severe pressures. Then, the UAE acts in agreement with the Israelis & filthy Zionist agents of the U.S. —such as the Jewish member of Trump’s family— with utmost cruelty against the interests of the World of Islam.#UAEStabsMuslims
— Khamenei.ir ? (@khamenei_ir) September 1, 2020
Prior to the historic flight, UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan issued a decree on Saturday that eliminated the restrictions against Israel and permitted trade and financial ties between the two Middle Eastern nations. UAE is only the third Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel, behind Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994). As part of the normalization treaty, Israel agreed to “suspend” plans to annex areas considered by some as necessary for a prospective Palestinian state.
The surprise agreement between Israel and the UAE was brokered with help from the United States and was announced last month. The move is a major blow to Iran, which has worked to exert more influence in the Middle East through its use of proxy groups and militias in countries such as Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. The agreement was described as Tehran’s “worst nightmare” by Brian Hook, the outgoing U.S. special envoy to Iran.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani previously denounced the agreement as “a treacherous act.”
“[The UAE] better be mindful. They have committed a huge mistake, a treacherous act. We hope they will realize this and abandon this wrong path,” Rouhani said. Around the time that the deal was first announced by the U.S., Rouhani also accused Trump of brokering the pact for his own political gain.
Relations had already been thawing between the two countries for some time, with the first direct humanitarian flight to Israel, meant to provide aid to Palestinians during the coronavirus pandemic, occurring earlier this summer.
There is hope among U.S. officials that the Israel-UAE deal might spur other Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel.
