Netanyahu warns Saudi Arabia that “those who associate with Iran, associate with misfortune”

The Israeli prime minister is committed to “achieving peace” with Riyadh to “expand” the ‘Abraham Accords’

20 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Saudi Arabia of the danger of its decision to resume diplomatic relations with Iran following an agreement signed in March mediated by China and has maintained that “you want to associate with Iran, are associated with misfortune.”

“Look at Lebanon, Yemen, Syria or Iraq,” Netanyahu said during an interview with the US television network CNBC. “95 percent of the problems in the Middle East emanate from Iran,” he stressed, while revealing that he believes that the agreement “has more to do with the desire to reduce or even put an end to the conflict in Yemen.”

“I think that the leadership of Saudi Arabia has no illusions about who their adversaries and friends are,” said the Israeli prime minister, who has reiterated his desire to “achieve peace with Saudi Arabia.” “I think it would be another qualitative leap towards peace. In many ways, it would put an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict,” he defended.

Netanyahu has opted on several occasions to start talks with Riyadh to establish diplomatic ties in line with the ‘Abraham Accords’, which allowed Israel to start ties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. However, Saudi Arabia has maintained that this process must come after a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians that includes the creation of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital.

“We would like to extend the circle of peace in its entirety”, stressed the Israeli prime minister, who stressed that “the sky is the limit”. “I even believe that the sky is not the limit, because there are also many opportunities in space,” he said, before saying that he is “not aware” of an offer from China to also mediate a peace process between Israelis and Palestinians.

The agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia has been applauded by the rest of the countries in the region and has opened the possibility of a reduction in the disputes between the two countries in the Middle East, including the conflict in Yemen, where a process of talks with the aim of signing a peace agreement that puts an end to the war that broke out in 2015.

In this context, official delegations from Iran and Saudi Arabia have made reciprocal visits in view of the reopening of their diplomatic missions, while the Saudi King, Salmán bin Abdulaziz, has invited the Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi, to make an official visit to Riyadh. In response, the Iranian president has responded by inviting bin Abdulaziz to visit Tehran.