TEHRAN – President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday condemned an agreement between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Zionist regime of Israel to normalize ties, warning Abu Dhabi that the agreement must never prepare the ground for the presence of the Zionist regime in the Persian Gulf region.

Noting that even until the present time the UAE has done a “great mistake and treasonous act”, Rouhani said, “We warn the Emirates that lest it (agreement) finds a place for the Zionist regime in the region… then it will be different and they will be treated differently,” Rouhani said while speaking at a meeting of the National Task Force for Fighting Coronavirus.

Rouhani said the UAE intentionally wanted the agreement be announced by U.S. President Donald Trump to increase his chances of reelection in the November election. Rouhani said the UAE has the illusion that if Trump is reelected it will have better security.

“If a wrong relationship has been established, why is it announced by a third party, the United States? They betray their country, the Muslims and the Arab world, because a person in Washington seeks to gain vote or they think they can have security if they get close to the enemies of Islam and Iran, which is wrong,” Rouhani stated.

Rouhani also noted that Iran has always supported security in the region and expressed hope that the UAE would return from the wrong path it has taken.

Israel and the UAE reached a deal on Thursday that will lead to full normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The deal came after a phone call between Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, according to Aljazeera.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Friday condemning the agreement. The ministry called the deal a “strategic stupidity” by the UAE and Israel and a “dagger in the back of Muslims” by Abu Dhabi.

‘JCPOA defeats U.S.’

Rouhani also said that the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the JCPOA, acted as a barrier against the illegal move by United States in the UN Security Council and “defeated” Washington.

He was referring to the United Nations Security Council’s move in rejecting  a U.S. resolution to extend an arms embargo on Iran that is due to expire in October.

Besides the United States, only the Dominican Republic voted in favor of the draft. China and Russia voted against the text, and the remaining 11 Security Council members, including the European allies of the United States, abstained.

Rouhani said that the UN Security Council session and the act of rejecting the U.S. draft resolution was a “political victory” for Iran and a “political and legal failure” for Washington.

NA/PA