Israel says its policy on Iran allows to expand ties with Arab countries

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer said Thursday that his country’s policy towards Iran allows to expand relations with Arab countries.

According to a statement by his office, Dermer said his ministry's priority is to ensure that "evil regime in Iran, which openly calls and actively works to destroy the one and only Jewish state, does not achieve that goal."

Dermer, who is currently visiting the United States, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is determined to expand ties with new Arab countries and hopes to work closely with the Biden administration on this issue.

"I think the policy towards Iran is a critical part of expanding that [normalization with Arab countries] because I think it opens the space for Arab leaders to move into a public alliance with Israel as we face this common enemy together," he added.

There was no comment yet from Iran on the Israeli minister’s statements.

Israel accuses Iran of seeking to build a nuclear bomb, a claim denied by Tehran, which says its program is designed for peaceful purposes.

Dermer is the first Israeli minister to visit the US since the Netanyahu government was sworn in on December 29, following elections in November, which gave his right-right bloc a simple majority to form a new government.

In 2020, four Arab countries – the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco – signed US-sponsored agreements to normalize relations with Israel.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara