DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran's&nbsp;Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali&nbsp;Khamenei&nbsp;said that countries seeking to normalise relations with&nbsp;Israel&nbsp;"are betting on a&nbsp;losing&nbsp;horse",&nbsp;state&nbsp;media&nbsp;reported on Tuesday.
Khamenei&nbsp;did not identify the countries, but expectations that&nbsp;Israel&nbsp;might normalize&nbsp;ties&nbsp;with&nbsp;Iran's&nbsp;regional rival Saudi Arabia, the home of Islam's two holiest shrines, have been ratcheted up this month.
"The definite position of the Islamic Republic is that countries that make the gamble of normalisation with&nbsp;Israel&nbsp;will lose. They are betting on a&nbsp;losing&nbsp;horse,"&nbsp;Khamenei&nbsp;said.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in response to&nbsp;Khamenei's remarks that&nbsp;Iran's&nbsp;efforts to stop countries in the region from forging&nbsp;ties&nbsp;with&nbsp;Israel&nbsp;will fail, citing agreements it signed with Arab nations in 2020.
"Just as Iran hasn't prevented us from achieving the Abraham Accords, Iran will also not prevent us from expanding the circle of peace for the benefit of the citizens of&nbsp;Israel, the people of the region and all of humanity."
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MbS, said in an interview broadcast on Sept 20 that a deal on&nbsp;ties&nbsp;with&nbsp;Israel&nbsp;was getting closer by the day and Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden held a long-awaited meeting to discuss the prospects.
A framework U.S.-brokered deal for forging relations between&nbsp;Israel&nbsp;and Saudi Arabia could be in place by early next year, the&nbsp;Israeli foreign minister said last month, after the three countries signalled progress in the complex negotiations.
An&nbsp;Israeli-Saudi normalisation would dramatically redraw the Middle East by formally bringing together two major U.S. partners in the face of Iran - a foreign-policy flourish for President Joe Biden as he seeks reelection in late 2024.
Four Arab&nbsp;states have formalised&nbsp;ties&nbsp;with&nbsp;Israel&nbsp;in pacts known as the Abraham Accords -- the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.
(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Alex Richardson, Editing by William Maclean)

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Iran's Khamenei says normalising Israel ties is a losing bet - state media