TEHRAN — Secretary of Iran's Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaee has said with the role of the United States diminishing in the region, Israel is seeking to establish ties with regional countries, Mehr reported.

“The Zionist regime knows that in the future, after the diminishing of the U.S. role in the region, it will face a security vacuum, therefore it is after establishing relations with countries of the region,” Rezaee said in a local ceremony on Friday. 

He also said Iran’s security strictly hinges on the security of the region, adding that if Iran fails to be present outside its borders, it will face problems inside the country.

Rezaee was referring to the U.S.-brokered normalization agreements between Israel and Iran’s two southern neighbors, the UAE and Bahrain, which seek animosity with Iran. 

Observers say the normalization deals were foisted upon the two Arab countries by Trump so as to boost his chances of re-election.

Since U.S. President Donald Trump assumed office in January 2017, Israel, Saudi Arabia and certain Arab countries have pushed for a harsher U.S. foreign policy against Iran. 

They supported Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal – which was clinched under Barack Obama – and cheered the U.S. president for his subsequent sanctions on Tehran that caused more than two hundred billions of dollars in losses.

Seeing a probable end to the hawkish policies of the White House against Tehran, the Israeli regime warned earlier this month that there could be an Israel-Iran war if Biden wins the U.S. presidency. 

“Biden has said openly for a long time that he will go back to the nuclear agreement,” Israeli Settlements Minister Tzachi Hanegbi said on Wednesday, reported the Jerusalem Post. “I see that as something that will lead to a confrontation between Israel and Iran.”

MH/PA