Unite against real enemy: Iran Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei to Muslim countries

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has called on Muslim countries, particularly Gulf nations, to unite against what he described as their “real enemy”, warning that divisions among Muslims benefit their adversaries.

Khamenei made the appeal in a written message published on his Telegram account for Islamic Unity Week, which marks the birthday of Prophet Muhammad, Reuters reported.

The message called for greater unity among Muslim countries, cooperation across various fields and mutual defence. It said anyone creating divisions among Muslims, “knowingly or unknowingly,” helps Islam’s enemies.

Questioning the consequences of divisions in the Muslim world, the message asked whether Palestinians would have been left “so helpless” if Muslims had been united.

Khamenei has not appeared in public since he was injured in US-Israeli airstrikes six months ago that triggered the Iran war. The strikes killed his father and predecessor as Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

His latest appeal echoed remarks to Iranians on Friday, when he said he had prohibited actions that damage social cohesion and urged authorities to refrain from “discouraging statements” that weaken national and public morale.

Addressing Gulf Arab rulers specifically, Khamenei asked whether “rogues without identity” would have dared to covet their lands and possessions if the peoples and governments of the Gulf had been “united under the flag of Islam.”

Relations between Iran and Gulf Arab monarchies have remained strained since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The Gulf monarchies have regarded Iran’s revolutionary ideology, including its anti-monarchic rhetoric and regional influence, as a threat to their political systems.

During the current conflict, Tehran has struck US military facilities as well as other infrastructure in Gulf states, highlighting continuing tensions between Iran and its Gulf neighbours.

“My emphatic and repeated recommendation to the rulers of Islamic countries, especially the countries of West Asia and the Gulf, is to identify your real enemy, understand his plan and confront it,” Khamenei said.