Middle East CRISIS: Iran warns Saudi Arabia to avoid 'UNFORGIVABLE MISTAKE'
IRAN'S Supreme Leader has issued a warning to bitter rivals Saudi Arabia that any move to negotiate with Israel would be an "unforgivable mistake".
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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the threat after Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman said Israelis were entitled to live peacefully on their own land.
In response to bin Salman's comments, Khamenei branded Israel an "oppressive regime" and urged the Saudis not to negotiate with the Jewish state.
He said: "Movement toward negotiation with the cheating, lying and oppressive regime of Israel is a big, unforgivable mistake.
It will push back the victory of the people of Palestine
"It will push back the victory of the people of Palestine."
Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and site of its holiest shrines, does not officially recognise Israel.
However, bin Salman's comments, quoted in the US magazine The Atlantic, are a further sign of an apparent thawing in bilateral ties.
He said: "I believe that each people, anywhere, has a right to live in their peaceful nation.
Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued the stark warning to Saudi Arabia
"I believe the Palestinians and the Israelis have the right to have their own land.
"But we have to have a peace agreement to assure the stability for everyone and to have normal relations."
His comments come as mainly Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia faces off against Shi'ite Iran in a regional power struggle.
Tehran and Riyadh back opposing sides in the conflicts in Yemen and Syria, as well as rival political groups in Iraq and Lebanon.
Mohammed bin Salman said that Israelis have a right to their own land
After the crown prince's comments, his father King Salman reiterated Saudi Arabia's support for a Palestinian state.
Riyadh has repeatedly urged Israeli to withdraw from Arab lands captured in the 1967 Middle East war – territory Palestinians seek for a future state.
However, Saudi Arabia opened its air space for the first time to a commercial flight to Israel last month.
The breakthrough, which came after two years of efforts, was hailed as "historic" by Israeli tourism minister Yariv Levin.