Iran Blasts Saudi Attempts to Normalize Ties with Israel as "Betrayal"

"Saudi Arabia's attempts to normalize ties is a major betrayal of the Palestinian people, and the Muslim world would react to such undigested Saudi measures in the long run," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi told reporters in his weekly press conference in Tehran on Monday.

He also condemned the recent meeting between the Zionist officials and the Bahraini clerics, stressing that it is considered as a "betrayal" of the Muslim world.

In relevant remarks in December, Sheikh Nafez Azzam, a senior member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad's political bureau, praised Iran for its powerful support for Palestine, and lashed out at certain Arab states for attempts to normalize relations with Israel.

"We are honored by the assistance that we receive from Iran and repeat it on every occasion. Iran has stood beside the Palestinian nation powerfully and remained steadily on its position to support the Palestinian people despite pressures and hard conditions it had in the past years. We appreciate the Iranian officials and nation for their extensive aid to the Palestinian people and resistance in the past and now," Azzam said.

He also condemned certain Arab states for their attempts to normalize ties with Israel and win the US friendship, and reminded them of the peace accord signed by Yasser Arafat with Israel which was later violated by the latter.

"This shows that Israel is not willing to make any concessions," Azzam said.