Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s President on Wednesday said that the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain will be responsible for any “consequences” resulting from their normalisation of relations with Iran’s rival Israel.
Rouhani remarked on this a day after Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and the foreign ministers of Bahrain and the UAE signed agreements establishing full diplomatic ties at a White House ceremony.
His remarks are also shortly after Israeli planes bombed Hamas targets in the besieged Gaza Strip. The Israeli raid followed rockets fired from Gaza while the normalisation deals with the two Arab states were being signed in the United States.
As USA had brokered this agreement, the POTUS, Donald Trump said, “After decades of division and conflict, we mark the dawn of a new Middle East”.
He also said that there were more potential White House brokered deals close between Israel and other Arab countries, including Iran’s regional rival, Saudi Arabia.
However, speaking at a cabinet meeting, Rouhani said Israel was “committing more crimes in Palestine every day”. And his televised remarks said “Some of the region’s countries, their people are pious Muslims but their rulers neither understand religion nor (their) debt… to the nation of Palestine, to their brothers speaking their language”.
“How could you reach out your hands to Israel? And then you want to give them bases in the region? All the severe consequences that would arise from this are on you.” said Rouhani.
Iran had previously warned Bahrain that its deal made it a partner to Israel’s “crimes” and accused the UAE of betraying the Muslim world.