TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran said Saturday that Bahrain is now an accomplice to the crimes of Israel after the two announced a deal to normalize relations.
“The rulers of Bahrain will from now on be partners to the crimes of the Zionist regime as a constant threat to the security of the region and the world of Islam,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry condemned Israel’s “decades of violence, slaughter, war, terror and bloodshed in oppressed Palestine and the region”.
It said that through this “shameful and humiliating” deal, Bahrain has “scarified the Palestinian cause on the altar of American elections”.
“The oppressed and right-seeking people of Palestine and the freedom-seeking Muslims of the world, without doubt, will never accept the normalization of relations with the usurping and lawless Israeli regime, and this shameful act will remain in the historical memory of the oppressed and downtrodden Palestinian nation and the world’s freedom-seeking nations,” it said.
“The result will undoubtedly be growing anger and the lasting hatred of the oppressed people of Palestine, Muslims and the free nations of the world”.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry further warned against any act by Israel meant to create insecurity in the Persian Gulf region, saying Bahrain and its allied governments bear responsibility for its consequences.
The Friday announcement by US President Donald Trump made Bahrain the second Arab country in a month, after the United Arab Emirates, to normalize ties with Israel under US sponsorship.
Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said earlier this month that the UAE had “betrayed” the Muslim world and that he hoped they would “soon wake up and compensate for what they have done.”
Calling it a “truly historic day,” Trump said that Israel and Bahrain were establishing full diplomatic and commercial relations.
Bahrain has become the fourth Arab country to reach an agreement with Israel, which exchanged embassies with Egypt and Jordan decades ago.
Bahrain said in a joint statement it had agreed to normalize the deal with Israel at a ceremony Tuesday in the White House, where the United Arab Emirates will also sign off on its own thaw with Israel announced in mid-August.
Bahrainis opposed to the agreement vented their frustration on social media, using the hashtags “Bahrainis against normalization” and “normalization is betrayal”.
“A black day in the history of Bahrain,” wrote former lawmaker Ali al-Aswad.
Turkey also condemned the deal, saying it undermined the Palestinian cause.
“The step will be a fresh blow to efforts to defend the Palestinian cause and will further embolden Israel to continue its illegal practices toward Palestine and its attempts to make the occupation of Palestinian territories permanent,” it said.
The joint statement said Bahrain’s King Hamad, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump had spoken hours before announcing the new deal.
The UAE sent congratulations to Bahrain and Israel.
The Palestinians, who see Arab support as crucial to their power in resisting Israeli occupation, also condemned the Israel-Bahrain deal.
The agreement was “a stab in the back of the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people,” said Ahmad Majdalani, the social affairs minister in the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority.
Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, said it was an “aggression” that dealt “serious prejudice” to the Palestinian cause.
Palestinians fear the moves by Bahrain and the UAE will weaken a longstanding pan-Arab position that calls for Israeli withdrawal from occupied territory and acceptance of Palestinian statehood.
AFP, Reuters and Press TV contributed to this story.
- source : Iran Daily