Syed Zafar Mehdi
July 14, 2022•Update: July 15, 2022
TEHRAN, Iran
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned Thursday of a "harsh and regrettable" response, hours after US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid issued a joint declaration against Iran.
Speaking at a public meeting in the western city of Kermanshah, Raisi said any "mistake" on the part of the US or its allies in the region will see a "harsh and regrettable" answer from Iran.
The Iranian president said the interventions of foreign powers in the region only result in "crises and destabilization,” while describing Iran's military power as a "security factor.”
Raisi's remarks came shortly after Biden and Lapid in a joint declaration on Thursday reaffirmed their resolve to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
“The United States stresses that integral to this pledge is the commitment never to allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, and that it is prepared to use all elements of its national power to ensure that outcome,” read the statement dubbed the Jerusalem Declaration.
Without dropping any names, Raisi said some countries in the region have become "transits of insecurity and terrorism" from the West to this region, adding that Iran will "not accept insecurity and crisis" in the region.
Repeating what he said in a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, he said normalization deals between Israel and some regional states "will not bring security" to Israel.
In 2020, Israel signed US-sponsored agreements to normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.
De-listing IRGC
Biden's visit to the region, his first since taking office last year, will also take him to Saudi Arabia. It comes amid indirect talks between Tehran and Washington in Doha, mediated by the EU, to de-escalate tensions and revive the 2015 nuclear accord.
The talks have been affected by some key disagreements between the two sides, mainly over the de-listing of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the guarantee of Iran's economic benefits from the agreement.
In an interview with an Israeli television channel on Wednesday, Biden ruled out the possibility of removing IRGC from the foreign terrorist organizations list even if that kills the deal, but said the use of force against Iran will be the "last resort".
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, hinting for the first that Tehran has temporarily dropped the demand for IRGC's de-listing, said in an interview with an Italian newspaper during his visit to Rome on Wednesday that the new proposal by Iran in Doha mainly focuses on guarantees of economic benefits.
“We must be certain that the Iranian companies enjoy the economic benefits and their share of the agreement... We do not ask for anything that goes beyond the nuclear agreement," he said.
Nuclear talks
Meanwhile, there has been speculation that the US president seeks to push Israel's normalization with regional states, including Saudi Arabia, during his four-day visit, which many observers believe can put new hurdles in nuclear deal talks.
Nour News, affiliated with Iran's top security body, in a series of tweets early on Thursday said "any action to disrupt the security order" in the region by the US "under the influence" of Israel could affect other areas as well.
Also on Thursday, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani, in response to comments made by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, said the US "unconditionally supports the world's most murderous regime,” in reference to Israel, accusing Sullivan of "distorting the truth.”
Sullivan, aboard Air Force One en route to Tel Aviv, said Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to Tehran showed Moscow was "deepening an alliance with Iran to kill Ukrainians,” adding that it should be seen as an "acute threat" to the region.
In separate remarks on Thursday, Iran's government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi said security should come from within the region, adding that the security of Israel "would not be ensured by meetings and consultations.”
On Tuesday, Iran's Parliament Speaker Bagher Qalibaf said Washington was "pursuing policies and agendas set out by Israel."
“Turning into an executive of Israeli policies in the region will be a historic and strategic mistake on the part of the US president,” he said.
