Khamenei Calls Trump's Peace Plan for Israel and Palestinians 'Satanic'

The leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran reiterated his emphasis on the 'destruction' of Israel, labeling Donald Trump's peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians, known as the 'Deal of the Century', as a 'satanic' policy that, according to him, 'will never be realized'. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Monday, July 16, during a meeting with Hajj organizers, implicitly referenced meetings between Saudi and Israeli officials, again referring to Israel as a 'fake regime' and stating that the roots of Israel 'will be uprooted from the land of Palestine'. The Trump administration has announced that it is finalizing a new plan for achieving peace between Israel and the Palestinians, which will be presented soon; Mr. Trump has named the peace agreement, if achieved, the 'Deal of the Century'. The leader of the Islamic Republic also reiterated that 'Jerusalem remains the capital of Palestine'. The United States has recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and, by implementing a previous congressional resolution, moved the U.S. embassy to this city. The embassy's relocation to Jerusalem, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of Israel's establishment, led to protests and demonstrations by residents of Gaza near the Israeli border, resulting in 65 deaths on the first day, including those who later succumbed to their injuries. Palestinians and their supporting countries claim that the demonstrators were unarmed and that Israel used excessive and inappropriate force. In contrast, Israel claims that most of the deceased were militants affiliated with Hamas. The U.S. has also supported Israel's right to defend its borders. Meanwhile, the Israeli Prime Minister stated that Iran is behind the recent Palestinian protests. Khamenei's renewed emphasis on the 'destruction' of Israel comes after he rejected the Israeli Prime Minister's statements about Iran's efforts to 'destroy the Jews', calling it 'victimhood' and 'lies'. Some sources, including the Zaytoon website, interpreted those remarks as a 'tactical retreat' by Khamenei from the slogan of 'wiping out Israel', attributing it to Iran's negotiations with Europe regarding the status of the JCPOA. However, just five days later, he reiterated the call for 'the destruction of Israel'. In recent months, Israel has intensified its efforts to expel Iran from Syria. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, during a meeting with the Russian President in Moscow, stated that his clear message is that his country opposes any Iranian presence in Syria. In contrast, Ali Akbar Velayati, Khamenei's advisor on international affairs, who met with Vladimir Putin after the Israeli Prime Minister, stated that Iranian military forces will only leave Syria at the request of Syrian officials. In his remarks on Monday, Khamenei also referred to the 'Mina' and 'Grand Mosque' incidents as 'great injustices' and once again called for the formation of a 'fact-finding committee' regarding these two incidents with Iran's participation. In September 2015, during the crane collapse incident at the Grand Mosque, more than 100 people, including 11 Iranian pilgrims, were killed. Subsequently, in October of the same year, due to overcrowding during the passage of pilgrims through the Mina area, more than two thousand people lost their lives, of which over 460 were Iranian. The verbal disputes between Iranian and Saudi officials following this incident and their failure to reach an agreement on the conditions of both parties prevented Iranian pilgrims from participating in the 2016 Hajj.