Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued a written message on Sunday urging rulers in the Gulf and broader Islamic world to identify their ‘true enemy’ and confront it, as regional tensions escalate following the death of his father, former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, six months prior.
The message, published on Mojtaba Khamenei’s Telegram account during Islamic Unity Week, which commemorates the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, framed regional instability as a consequence of internal divisions among Muslim nations. In the statement, he emphasized that any Muslim leader who fosters division—whether consciously or not—serves the interests of Islam’s adversaries. He questioned whether Gulf states would have faced territorial threats from ‘faceless bandits’ if their governments and peoples had remained united under the banner of Islam.
Khamenei also linked regional instability to the plight of Palestinians, asking whether they would have been left ‘so helpless’ had Muslim nations acted in unison. The message follows a period of heightened conflict, during which Tehran targeted U.S. military facilities and other infrastructure in Persian Gulf countries, underscoring the fragile security environment in West Asia.
Domestically, Mojtaba Khamenei reiterated a pledge made in a Friday address to Iranians, stating he had banned actions that undermine social cohesion and directed authorities to avoid statements that could weaken national morale. The remarks come as Iran navigates the aftermath of the recent conflict, which included U.S. and Israeli airstrikes that killed his father and injured him, reshaping the country’s leadership and regional posture.
