A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shows him speaking during a ceremony in Tehran on May 1, 2024. (Credit: Khamenei.ir/Handout/AFP)
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that efforts underway to forge a normalization of ties between Israel and Arab countries will not resolve the crisis in the Middle East.
"Some people think that by forcing neighboring countries to normalize their ties [with Israel] the problem will be solved," said Khamenei.
"They are wrong."
Khamenei's remarks came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday said Washington is nearly ready with a security package to offer Saudi Arabia if it normalizes relations with Israel.
Saudi Arabia had been in talks over a potential normalization with Israel but they were paused when the Gaza war broke out.
It erupted after Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,568 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the territory.
Regional tensions have soared since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, drawing in Iran-backed militant groups in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen.
The Islamic Republic backs Hamas but has denied any direct involvement in the group's attack on arch-foe Israel.
Iran does not recognize Israel and has made support for the Palestinian cause a centerpiece of its foreign policy since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
"Palestine should be returned to them [Palestinians]," said Khamenei.
"They should form their own regime, their own system, then that system should decide how to deal with the Zionists."
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that efforts underway to forge a normalization of ties between Israel and Arab countries will not resolve the crisis in the Middle East.
"Some people think that by forcing neighboring countries to normalize their ties [with Israel] the problem will be solved," said Khamenei.
...