Iran: Sudan-Israel normalization deal was secured by 'ransom'

The US-brokered Sudan-Israel deal to normalize ties is “phony” and was secured by a “ransom,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

“Pay enough ransom, close your eyes to the crimes against Palestinians, then you’ll be taken off the so-called ‘terrorism’ blacklist,” the ministry tweeted. “Obviously, the list is as phony as the US fight against terrorism. Shameful.”

Israel and Sudan agreed on Friday to take steps to normalize relations in an accord engineered with the help of the United States, making Khartoum the third Arab government to set aside hostilities with Israel in the last two months.

Iran also cried out against the previous two normalization deals Israel made with Arab majority countries, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

In September, following the announcement of the deal with the UAE, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the UAE betrayed the Islamic world by making the deal.

“Of course, the UAE’s betrayal will not last long, but this stigma will always be remembered. They allowed the Zionist regime to have a foothold in the region and forgot Palestine,” Khamenei said.

He further claimed that due to the accord, the Emiratis will be “disgraced forever.”

When Bahrain was moving towards the normalization deal with Israel later that month, Iran’sForeign Ministry called the deal “shameful,” stating that “the rulers of Bahrain will from now on be complicit in the crimes of the Zionist regime, which is a threat to the security of the region and the Muslim world.”

Bahrain’s agreement, which was announced by US President Donald Trump on Friday, was partly forged because of their shared wariness of Iran.