Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that countries seeking to normalize relations with Israel "are betting on a losing horse", state media reported on Tuesday. "The definite position of the Islamic Republic is that countries that make the gamble of normalization with Israel will lose. They are betting on a losing horse," Khamenei said.
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"The Zionist regime if full of hate and anger not only toward Iran but toward other countries in the region," Khamenei said in a speech during an event marking the birthday of the Muslim prophet Muhammad. "The Zionists are displeased with the countries around them. They hate the Egyptians, Iraqi and Syrians as well. Why? Because their primary goal is to conquer the land from the River Nile to the Tigris and the Euphrates and that has not happened. Those countries would not allow it," he said.
A framework U.S.-brokered deal for forging relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia could be in place by early next year, the Israeli foreign minister said last month, after the three countries signaled progress in the complex negotiations.
On Monday Iran-backed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah also condemned the pending deal. In a speech he gave in Beirut's predominately Shi'ite Dahieh quarter, Nasrallah said such an agreement is dangerous and constitutes an assault on the Al Aqsa mosque and the Palestinian people.
"The Zionists must hear the voice of the Muslim world emanating from mosques," Nasrallah said. "Instead they hear voices expressing willingness for normalization," he said adding that Muslims bear responsibility for the Palestinians.
An Israeli-Saudi normalization would dramatically redraw the Middle East by formally bringing together two major U.S. partners in the face of Iran - a foreign-policy flourish for President Joe Biden as he seeks reelection in late 2024.