Iranian Vice-Speaker Urges Muslim States to Cut off Ties with US over Jerusalem Move

Motahhari, a moderate politician, told FNA on Saturday that the decision by the US President backfires as it has brought Muslim countries closer to each other over the Palestinian issue, and said the move has presented an opportunity to the Muslim world to stand united and strong.

“The least move the Muslim states can make is to summon the US ambassadors for explanations; yet basically, they had better show action and cut off relations with the US,” he said.

The senior MP said the US decision was an arrogant move in line with the Judaization of Jerusalem Al-Quds, “and Muslims are needed to take reciprocal action”.

“Yet, the major point is that the governments, specially those who have (established) ties with the US make a move” in response, Motahhari said.

The US president last Wednesday defied global warnings, and said Washington formally recognizes Jerusalem al-Quds as the “capital” of Israel, and will begin the process of moving its embassy to the occupied city, breaking with decades of American policy despite widespread international opposition.

In anticipation of Trump’s move, 151 members of the UN General Assembly voted last week to adopt a rare resolution that denounced Israel as the “occupying power” of Jerusalem al-Quds, a city that is holy to Muslims, Christians, and Jews alike.

The city has seen heightened tensions since 2015, when the Israeli military introduced restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque — Islam’s third holiest site.

Over 300 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli soldiers ever since.

Trump announced late on Wednesday that he would relocate the US diplomatic mission in Israel, a decision that the US Congress made in 1995 but all of his successors have deferred ever since.

Israel lays claim to the entirety of al-Quds (Jerusalem) as its capital while Palestinians want its Eastern part as the capital of a future state for themselves.

Palestinian leaders have warned that the potential relocation would fuel strong reaction in the region and deliver a death blow to any prospect of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Trump’s move which overturns decades of US foreign policy has triggered a fresh wave of unrest in the Middle East.