Iran's president says Emirates made 'huge mistake' in Israel deal

TEHERAN (REUTERS, BLOOMBERG) - The United Arab Emirates has made a "huge mistake" in reaching a deal towards normalising ties with Israel, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech on Saturday (Aug 15).

He warned the Gulf state against allowing Israel to have a "foothold in the region".

"They (the UAE) better be mindful. They have committed a huge mistake, a treacherous act. We hope they will realise this and abandon this wrong path," Rouhani said without elaborating.

The agreement, which is set to make the UAE only the third Arab state after Egypt and Jordan to make peace with Israel, calls for a temporary suspension of Israel's planned annexation of occupied West Bank territory, but not withdrawal.

The deal - brokered by US President Donald Trump with support from senior adviser Jared Kushner - is seen as a strategic boost for the UAE's regional and global standing.

Rouhani said the deal seemed aimed at ensuring that Trump wins another term in the US presidential election in November and referred to the fact that it was announced in Washington.

"Why then did it happen now? If it weren't a wrong deal, why was it then announced in a third country, in America? So a gentleman in Washington wins votes, you betray your country, your people, Muslims and the Arab world?"

Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards Corps said in a statement the UAE-Israel deal would "accelerate the process of the destruction of the child-killing Zionist regime (Israel)".

Meanwhile, an ultraconservative Iranian newspaper said on Saturday that the UAE's decision to normalise ties with Israel has made it a "legitimate target" for pro-Tehran forces.

The Kayhan daily, considered to be the mouthpiece of ultraconservatives in Iran, said the agreement was a "betrayal" of the Palestinian cause.

"The UAE's great betrayal of the Palestinian people and its signing of an agreement to normalise relations with the Zionist regime, if it has only one result, it will be to turn this small, rich country heavily dependent on security into a legitimate and easy target for the resistance," Kayhan said in a front-page commentary.

Iran's Foreign Ministry called the agreement an act of "strategic stupidity from Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv which will undoubtedly strengthen the resistance axis in the region".

The UAE downgraded ties with Iran in 2016 amid fierce rivalry between its ally Saudi Arabia and the Islamic republic.

But their relations had appeared to be on the mend in recent months, with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif holding rare talks with his UAE counterpart only last week.

In a phone interview, the United Arab Emirates said its decision to normalise ties with Israel isn't about countering Iran.

"This is not about Iran. This is about the UAE, Israel and the United States," said Mr Anwar Gargash, UAE minister of state for foreign affairs.

"This is in no way meant to create some sort of grouping against Iran."

While the Trump administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have sought to frame the agreement as part of their attempt to confront and further isolate Iran, Mr Gargash signalled that the UAE isn't looking to provoke its near neighbour.

"We have a very complicated relationship with Iran," he said.

"While we have our concerns, we feel also that resolving these issues should be through diplomacy and de-escalation."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also criticised the peace agreement, saying it undermines Palestinian rights as he threatened on Friday to withdraw Turkey's ambassador to the UAE.

Mr Gargash dismissed the statement as a "double standard" which glossed over Turkey's own significant trade links with Israel.

"They receive over half a million Israeli tourists, have US$2 billion (S$2.74 billion) worth of bilateral trade and an existing embassy there. And I ask myself whether this is a principled position or not," he said.

Under the deal, Israel agreed to put aside for now its pledge to annex West Bank land the Palestinians want for a state.

"We have been very concerned with the issue of annexation," Mr Gargash said.

"Through this imaginative proclamation, we have at least been able to give negotiations space."