Iran's Leader: Normalization with Israel ‘betting on a losing horse’

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has rebuked countries seeking to normalize relations with Israel, stating that “the Zionist regime is perishable”.

“The Islamic Republic's definite position is that the governments that use the normalization gamble with the Zionist regime as a model for themselves will lose and the loss awaits them,” Ayatollah Khamenei said on Tuesday.

“They are making a mistake and, as the Europeans say, they are betting on a losing horse,” he told a group of people, government officials, ambassadors of Islamic countries and guests of an international unity conference in Tehran.

Ayatollah Khamenei said the situation in Israel is not one of the kind to encourage closeness and countries “should not make this mistake”.

“Today, the Palestinian movement is more cheerful than ever in the past seventy and eighty years, and the Palestinian youth and the anti-usurpation, anti-oppression and anti-Zionism movement are more cheerful, more lively, and more ready than ever, as you can see.

“And God willing, this movement will come to fruition, and as the late honorable Imam [Khomeini] described the usurping regime as a cancer, God willing, this cancer will be eradicated at the hands of the Palestinian people and the resistance forces in the entire region."

Ayatollah Khamenei said Israel holds malice against Muslim countries.

“The Zionist regime is full of hatred and anger, not only towards us, but also other countries. It is not like the Zionist regime is happy with the countries far and around it. They also hate Egypt, Iraq and Syria.

“Why? Because their goal was from the Nile to the Euphrates and this did not happen. These countries did not allow it for different reasons,” the Leader said.

“Well, of course, the Qur'an says, ‘Be angry and die of anger.’ That will be the case. They are dying now and by the grace of God ‘Be angry and die of anger’ is being realized in the case of the Zionist regime,” he added.

Ayatollah Khamenei said hostility towards Islam is more obvious than ever now, citing the desecration of the Holy Qur’an in the West as an example.

“An ignorant idiot insults and a government supports it, which shows that the issue is not just a staged and insulting act,” he said.

“We have nothing to do with that ignorant and oblivious person who condemns himself to the most severe punishments and execution in order to fulfill the objectives of the behind-the-scenes elements. The discussion is about the designers of these crimes and hateful acts.

“They think they can weaken the Qur’an, but they are wrong and they ruin themselves,” the Leader added.

Ayatollah Khamenei said the idea of ​​weakening the Qur'an with such acts is delusional, which only exposes the inside of the enemies of the Holy Book. 

“The Qur’an is a book of wisdom, knowledge, humanization and awakening, and hostility with the Qur’an is actually hostility with these lofty concepts. Of course, the Qur'an is a threat to the corrupt powers because it both condemns oppression and blames the oppressed people who succumb to oppression.”       

Also, Ayatollah Khamenei said the justification of desecrating the Qur’an under the “trite, false and wrong” moniker of freedom of speech only disgraces the justifiers.

“In the countries that allow insulting the Qur’an under the pretext of freedom of speech, do they also allow attacking Zionist symbols? What language can be used to prove more clearly that the countries in question are under the domination of the cruel, criminal and plundering Zionists of the world?”

Ayatollah Khamenei touched on the occasion of the Islamic Unity Week, calling on the leaders and politicians of the Islamic countries and the experts and elites of the Islamic world to ponder over the question: Who is the enemy of the unity of the Islamic countries and whom does the unity of Muslims harm and prevent their interference and looting?

The Leader called on the Islamic countries in West Asia and North Africa to unite to prevent American theft, coercion and interference.

“America hits the countries of the region politically and economically, steals Syria's oil, protects and keeps the cruel, barbaric and bloodthirsty Daesh in its camps, so that it can bring the group back to the field whenever needed and interferes in the affairs of the countries.

“However, if everyone is united and Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the Persian Gulf countries adopt a single policy in fundamental and general issues, the bullying powers cannot and do not dare to interfere in their internal affairs and foreign policy.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said, “As we have said many times, we do not encourage anyone to war and military action, and we also avoid it, so the invitation to close ranks and unite is to prevent America's warmongering, since they start wars and all wars in the region have foreign causes.”

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir