Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with commanders and a group of members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 17, 2023. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Iran‘s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that countries seeking to normalize relations with Israel “are betting on a losing horse,” state media reported on Tuesday.

“The definite position of the Islamic Republic is that countries that make the gamble of normalization with Israel will lose. They are betting on a losing horse,” Khamenei said.

A framework US-brokered deal for forging relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia could be in place by early next year, the Israeli foreign minister said last month, after the three countries signaled progress in the complex negotiations.

An Israeli-Saudi normalization would dramatically redraw the Middle East by formally bringing together two major US partners in the face of Iran — a foreign-policy flourish for US President Joe Biden as he seeks reelection in late 2024.