News / Politics

Iran: US secured Sudan's normalization deal with Israel through 'ransom'

Saturday, 24 October 2020 11:38 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 24 October 2020 12:57 PM ]

US President Donald Trump speaks about a Sudan-Israel normalization agreement, in the Oval Office in Washington on October 23, 2020. (Photo by AFP)

Iran's Foreign Ministry has denounced a US-brokered agreement between Israel and Sudan to begin normalizing relations as a “ransom” paid by Khartoum in return for Washington taking it off a blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump said Israel and Sudan had opened economic ties as a pathway toward normalized ties.

He announced the deal in the Oval Office while on a conference call with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Sovereign Council chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

As part of the agreement, Trump took steps to remove Sudan from a US government list of countries allegedly promoting terrorism.

In a post on its Twitter account on Saturday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said, “The White House announcement on #Sudan couldn't be more symbolic.”

“Pay enough ransom, close your eyes on the crimes against Palestinians, then you'll be taken off the so-called "terrorism" blacklist,” it added. “Obviously the list is as phony as the US fight against terrorism. Shameful!”

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Friday’s deal makes Sudan the third Arab country to normalize relations with the occupying Israeli regime in the last two months, after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain.

In mid-September, Trump presided over the signing of the normalization pacts between Tel Aviv, Abu Dhabi and Manama. During a ceremony at the White House, Trump said “five or six” other countries were close to making similar agreements with Israel, but did not name them.

The Palestinians have condemned the normalization deals as a treacherous "stab in the back" of their cause against the Israeli occupation.

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