Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: UAE Government Committed An 'Unfortunate Act Of Betrayal' In Deal With Israel

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei referred to the UAE deal with Israel in a speech aired on channel 1 Iranian TV on September 1, 2020. In his speech, Khamenei said that the government of the UAE committed an "ultimate act of betrayal" against the Arab and Islamic world. He elaborated that this act constitutes a "mark of shame." Khamenei continued to say that the UAE "gave the Zionists a foothold in the region." He said that the Emiratis have seen Israel plunder Palestine and turn its people into refugees, yet they still maintain relations with "the Israelis, Zionist elements, and evil Americans who collaborate with the Israelis, like that Jew from Trump’s family." Khamenei said that "their attitude towards the issues of the region is absolutely cruel."

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: "At the end of this speech, I must refer to the unfortunate act of betrayal by the government of the UAE. It has betrayed the Islamic world, the Arab world, the countries of the region, and the Palestinian cause. What the Emiratis did constitutes a mark of shame. This mark of shame will be removed, of course, and it will not take long. However, this mark of shame will remain on the foreheads of the people who perpetrated this deed. They perpetrated the act of betrayal and did a very bad thing. They allowed the Zionists to have a foothold in the region.

"The Palestinian cause that is so important… Plundering a country and turning its people into refugees – is this a small thing? The Emiratis forgot that, and they normalized their relations [with Israel]. The Palestinian people – whether in Gaza or in the so-called 'occupied lands'… After all, Palestine in its entirety is occupied lands. But what is called in political language 'occupied lands' – the people there are under tremendous pressure in all respects. They [the Emiratis] see the settlements and all the things that are being done, but still maintain relations with the Israelis, with Zionist elements, and with the evil Americans who collaborate with the Israelis, like that Jew from Trump's family.

"Unfortunately, they act contrary to the interests of the Islamic world and the region. Their attitude towards the issues of the region is absolutely cruel. We must not help them, and the Emiratis did. We hope that they wake up as soon as possible and compensate for what they did."