Twenty-one Arab and Islamic countries including Iran issued a joint statement on Saturday denouncing Israel's move to recognize the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, describing it as a threat to regional peace, according to Iran's foreign ministry.
Israel on Friday became the first country to formally recognize Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state. The decision drew the immediate condemnation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) which rejected it as "a violation of the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Somalia, its national unity, and its territorial integrity."
The OIC's statement on Friday was followed by a similar joint statement by 21 mostly Middle Eastern or African countries which rejected the recognition “given the serious repercussions of such unprecedented measure on peace and security in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea and its serious effects on international peace and security as a whole.”
The joint statement also fully rejected "any potential link between such measure and any attempts to forcibly expel the Palestinian people out of their land.”
Syria also rejected Israel’s decision in a separate statement.
On Saturday, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman condemned what it described as Israel’s blatant violation of Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
"Israel’s actions amount to a gross breach of Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity through efforts to advance a plot to fragment the Islamic country," Esmail Baqaei said.
"They constitute a clear violation of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and international law."
Somaliland is a largely arid region along the Gulf of Aden, opposite Yemen and bordering Djibouti, a small country that hosts military bases for the United States, China, France and several other nations.
After signing a joint declaration of mutual recognition with Israel's prime minister, Somaliland's president Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi said his country would join the so-called Abraham Accords, calling it a step toward regional and global peace.
The 2020 accords were brokered by US President Donald Trump's first administration and included Israel formalizing diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, with other countries joining later.
