MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The United States' recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital shows a lack of respect for the rights of Palestinians and proves that the "US has never been an honest mediator and will never be," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday.
The Iranian president has firmly condemned the US step, urging the Islamic world to stand together against the decision, while the Iranian parliament, the Islamic Consultative Assembly, called on the Muslim countries to sever diplomatic ties with Israel and to minimize economic ties with the United States.
READ MORE: Erdogan Calls Israel 'Terrorist State', Insists Jerusalem is Palestine's Capital
US President Donald Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital on December 6 and instructed the US State Department to launch the process of moving the US Embassy, which is currently located in Tel Aviv, to Jerusalem. The step has prompted criticism from a number of states, first and foremost Middle Eastern states and Palestine and triggered a wave of protests in the region.
US will never be an honest broker in negotiations: Rouhani https://t.co/z6AcrIIIJt pic.twitter.com/wVmPXBPTJ1
— VOP Today (@VOP_Today) 13 декабря 2017 г.
This step caused a fierce reaction from Muslims around the world, including protests in the city itself.
Earlier, Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was criticized by the head of the Palestinian Autonomy, Mahmoud Abbas.
The ownership of Jerusalem is one of the main issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted to create two states — a Jewish and Arab — on the West Bank of the River Jordan, as well as the international zone of Jerusalem. Simultaneously with the proclamation in 1948 of the State of Israel, the Arab-Israeli war (1948-1949) began. On December 5, 1949, the Israeli government announced that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
