Iran slams Trump’s ‘delusional’ Middle East peace plan

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has blasted US President Donald Trump’s soon-to-be-revealed peace plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, suggesting Iran’s referendum proposal would be a better strategy.

Trump said he will unveil his “deal of the century” for Israel and Palestine – actually prepared by his aide and son-in-law Jared Kushner – on Tuesday, but Zarif has already taken to Twitter to condemn it. He suggested that Washington should abandon its “delusional” plan and instead support a solution offered by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Instead of a delusional “Deal of the Century”—which will be D.O.A.—self-described "champions of democracy” would do better to accept Iran's democratic solution proposed by Ayatollah @khamenei_ir:A referendum whereby ALL Palestinians—Muslim, Jew or Christian—decide their future.

— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 27, 2020

Unlike the US plan, the details of which remain a mystery, the proposal put forward by Ayatollah Khamenei amounts to holding a referendum on a system of government including “Muslim, Christian and Jewish residents of Palestine as well as Palestinian refugees.” The Iranian leader also repeatedly slammed the US’ “deal of the century” by calling it “traitorous” and designed to “destroy” Palestine’s identity, as he apparently suspects the plan will greatly favor Israel.

While little is known about the deal, reports suggest that it’s unlikely to envisage statehood for Palestinians. AFP said that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has already rejected the deal ahead of it being unveiled, and the Palestinian Authority considers that a two-state solution is the only way forward.

Tellingly, both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival in the forthcoming snap elections, Benny Gantz, will attend the ceremony at the White House, while no Palestinian representatives will be present.

In anticipation of a strongly pro-Israeli plan, Palestinian leaders in Ramallah and Gaza have also condemned the upcoming deal and called for a “day of rage” on Tuesday. They urged Palestinians to boycott American goods, and remove all US symbols remaining in the West Bank.

Trump claimed in a press conference earlier this week that his administration had spoken “briefly” to the Palestinians, and vowed to talk to them again at some point in the future. He admitted that they might not like his proposals “at first.” However, he also maintained that his plan is “actually very positive to them.”

Washington has curtailed hundreds of millions of dollars in aid and stopped funding the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees. Trump’s decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem also drew the ire of the Palestinian Authority, which cut all communications with the US thereafter.