UAE cannot buy security through normalizing ties with Israel: Iran FM

Iran’s foreign minister says despite what the rulers of the United Arab Emirates think, their country cannot become more secure through a recent deal concluded between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv for the normalization of relations between the UAE and Israel.

Mohammad Javad Zarif made the remarks in a speech delivered at the Faculty of World Studies at the University of Tehran on Monday, the fifth and final part of a five-part course in international relations entitled, “World in Transition,” which is being offered by Iran’s top diplomat.

“The United Arab Emirates has turned to Israel to buy security, while Israel is unable to keep even itself secure,” Iran’s top diplomat said.

Iran's Foreign Ministry vehemently condemned the deal aimed at normalization of relations between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv, calling it an instance of “strategic folly” that will only end up strengthening the regional resistance front.

“Undoubtedly, the agreement will result in fortification of the resistance axis in the region,” the ministry said in a statement.

“History will reveal how this strategic mistake by the Zionist regime and this act of backstabbing by the Emirates against the Palestinians and, by extension, the entire Muslim community, will conversely result in fortifying the resistance axis,” the ministry added.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian foreign minister said regional countries should realize and accept that they cannot purchase security, but it should be established by regional states.

"You cannot be secure if your neighbors are not secure …We should understand that we can compete with each other, but cannot dominate or delete each other," Zarif emphasized.

He said neighboring countries live closely together and have no other option, adding, "No one can be crossed out from the region, but foreign powers can be expelled."

He emphasized that countries in the West Asia region are spending the highest amount of money on the purchase of arms, noting that the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council's member states allocated some 116 billion dollars to buying lethal weapons in 2017.  

Iran's top diplomat said cooperation among regional players would lay a suitable ground for enhanced trade ties and political interaction in the region, which can then be expanded to relations with countries outside the region.

Earlier on Monday,  the Iranian foreign minister said in a tweet that his American counterpart, Mike Pompeo, is trying to “flood our region” with all kinds of US weapons even when his country’s own laws prohibit such a measure.

MG