Hardliners in Tehran protest UAE's deal with Israel

A group of Iranian hardliners gathered outside the United Arab Emirates' embassy in Tehran on Saturday to condemn the country's historic deal with Israel normalizing diplomatic relations.

They burnt Israeli and U.S. flags and chanted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" as well as pro-Palestinian slogans.

Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard vowed Saturday there would be dangerous consequences for the UAE after it announced the decision.

The UAE is the first Gulf state and only the third Arab nation to establish normalized relations with Israel, Iran's regional arch-enemy.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard called the deal a "shameful" agreement and an "evil action" that was underwritten by the U.S.

It warned that the deal with Israel will set back American influence in the Middle East, and bring a "dangerous future" for the Emirati government.

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani has also condemned the Emirati move, warning in a televised speech that the UAE had made a "huge mistake."

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the United Arab Emirates and Israel agreed to establish full diplomatic ties as part of a deal to halt the annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state.

The UAE presented its controversial decision as a way of encouraging peace efforts and taking Israel's planned annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank off the table.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu swiftly pushed back, insisting the pause in annexation was "temporary."