Students gather in front of the UAE Embassy to protest the normalization of relations with Israel, in Tehran, Iran August 15, 2020. Photo: Majid Asgarpour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS.

Iran’s approach to the United Arab Emirates will change, the country’s armed forces chief of staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri was quoted as saying on Sunday, after a deal between the Arab state and Tehran’s arch foe Israel on normalizing ties.

“Tehran’s approach to the UAE will change … If something happens in the Persian Gulf region and if our national security is damaged, however small, we will hold the UAE responsible for that and we will not tolerate it,” Bagheri said.

The UAE-Israel agreement announced last week, which US President Donald Trump helped to broker, is seen as aimed at bolstering opposition to regional power Iran.