TEHRAN - Ali-Asghar Khaji, the Iranian foreign minister’s special assistant for political affairs, has said that an agreement between the United Arab Emirates and the Zionist regime to normalize ties will not be beneficial to the regional countries.

In an interview with Al-Ahed news website, Khaji said that Iran has announced its stance in opposing the move which is not beneficial to the regional and Islamic countries, ISNA reported on Tuesday.

It was announced on Thursday that the UAE and Israel plan to normalize ties and establish full diplomatic relationship.

President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday condemned the agreement, 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) helps find a place for the Zionist regime in the region… then it will be different and they (the Emiratis) will be treated differently,” Rouhani said.

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.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Friday calling the agreement a “strategic stupidity” and “a dagger in the back of Muslims”.

The statement said the move will definitely result in boosting the axis of resistance.

Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri on Sunday urged the United Arab Emirates to revise its decision to establish ties with the Zionist regime.

“In a situation in which all the freedom-seeking people in the world express disgust over relationship with the Zionist regime, it is regrettable that a neighbor of the Islamic Republic announces normalization of ties with this child-killing regime,” Bagheri said.

He noted that as a Muslim country, such relationship is not acceptable for the UAE.

“We advise the United Arab Emirates to revise its decision before it is too late and avoid continuing a path which is harmful to regional security,” the top general noted.

Also, Iranian Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi on Monday slammed the agreement, describing it as a treacherous move against Islam and the Palestinian cause.

Raisi warned the UAE rulers “who are in glass towers” about the consequences of the move, Mehr reported.

“The betrayal of the Emirates’ rulers are not forgivable and it will not be wiped out by the passage of time,” he said. “The Emirates’ collaboration and cooperation with the child killer and aggressive regime of Israel will not be ignored by the freedom-seekers of the world and it will remain in the memory of nations.”
 
NA/PA