Iran unleashed an angry outburst this weekend, in response to the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, a deal that calls for deeper cooperation between the Jewish state and the Gulf Arabs to counter Tehran, because it strives for regional influence.
In a national televised speech on Saturday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said, “We warn the Emirates: do not open up the region to the Zionist regime to step in.” If the agreement leads to expanded Israeli influence in the region, Mr Rouhani said, “Things will change, and they will be treated differently.”
On Sunday, Iran’s top military commander, Major General Mohammad Baqeri, said Tehran would fundamentally change its stance on the UAE and that the army “would also treat that country with various calculations.”
The UAE and Israel had forged quiet commercial and security alliances for years before the two nations, at the urging of the Trump administration, decided to conclude a formal diplomatic agreement.
The agreement followed a period of de-escalation between the UAE and Iran, and the timing caught Tehran by surprise, according to Diako Hosseini, director of the World Studies Program at the Center for Strategic Studies in Tehran, which is affiliated with the presidency.
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