GCC: Iran's strong reaction to UAE-Israel normalization 'a threat'

The Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has reacted with outrage to Iran’s strong opposition to a recent deal between the United Arab Emirates and Israel to normalize relations.

In a statement on Sunday, the regional grouping’s Secretary-General Nayef Falah Mubarak al-Hajraf alleged that the position adopted by various Iranian officials, including President Hassan Rouhani, amounted to a “threat,” Sky News Arabia reported.

Such remarks, Hajraf claimed, served to foment instability and insecurity in the Persian Gulf region and ran counter to the standing diplomatic customs.

The United Arab Emirates and Israel announced the deal that laid the groundwork for full normalization of their relations on Thursday.

The agreement was met with uniform condemnation of all Palestinian factions, who called it a stab in the back of the Palestinians and sheer betrayal of their cause

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Israel and the United Arab Emirates agree to normalize diplomatic ties in a deal apparently brokered by US President Donald Trump that includes Tel Aviv regime’s agreement to suspend annexation of the occupied West Bank.

The Emirati Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires in Abu Dhabi in reaction to the Iranian president’s remarks, which it alleged amounted to “interference” in the UAE’s internal affairs and an ”assault” on its sovereignty, the Emirates’ official WAM news agency reported..

The Iranian envoy was served with a “strongly-worded memo” over the “unacceptable” and “inflammatory” remarks, echoing the GCC’s allegations that Rouhani’s words carried “serious repercussions” for the security and stability of the Persian Gulf region, the agency added, citing the ministry.

 Lambasting the move, President Rouhani warned Abu Dhabi about the consequences of allowing the Tel Aviv regime to secure a foothold in the region and wield influence.

He said Emirati rulers had taken a wrong path to think that their security and economic growth would be ensured if they sided with the United States and the Israeli regime, similarly denouncing the deal as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause.

Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, said normalization between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv served to further galvanize regional people against the occupying regime, thus bringing its ultimate disintegration closer.

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The GCC official suggested though that by assuming such stances, the Islamic Republic was avoiding a “peaceful” resolution of the existing differences with its fellow Persian Gulf littoral states, and neglecting the principles of good-neighborliness.

Tehran has repeatedly expressed readiness for participation in a dialog aimed at ironing out the differences.

It, however, has cautioned against foreign meddling, including by the US and its allies, asserting that the region’s problems have to be sorted out by its own members. Tehran has invited the regional states to join their efforts to ensure security without any foreign interference. 

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