Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Sunday called on Muslim countries in the region to unite against the United States and Israel, in a written message issued six months on from the start of the Middle East war.
Khamenei’s Leadership Amidst Calls for Unity
Khamenei, who assumed power shortly after the assassination of his father, Ali Khamenei, at the onset of the war on February 28, has not made any public appearances since his appointment. There has been no release of video or audio recordings featuring him.
On Sunday, as Shia Muslims celebrated the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed, he emphasized the importance of unity among Islamic nations. ‘The solution to the problems of the Islamic nations is unity of words, friendship, and cooperation on the path of goodness,’ he stated, highlighting a message of solidarity during a significant religious observance.
During the war, Iran targeted US military bases across the Middle East, including in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. Relations with those nations have since soured. Khamenei, who has the final say on major state policies, also called on Iranian officials and citizens to put aside differences and come together against Israel and the United States. He also called Friday for the gradual de-dollarisation of the Iranian economy and for boosting economic production to support growth following months of a US naval blockade and years of crippling sanctions that have hit livelihoods. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
“Anyone, in any position, who does anything that leads to division among Muslims and creates conflict in the Muslim community, knowingly or unknowingly, intentionally or unintentionally, has served the purpose of the enemies of Islam,” he added, according to his official website. The supreme leader called on the rulers of regional countries to “recognise your real enemy, understand its plan, and confront it”, referring to the US and Israel. “Again, this servant’s advice to the Iranian people is to not allow any differences to arise among themselves in any way,” he said, echoing remarks made in another statement on Friday. “I firmly declare that doing anything detrimental to social cohesion is prohibited,” he had said in Friday’s message.
