Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Sunday called on Muslim nations, particularly neighboring Gulf Arab states, to unite against the "real enemy," six months since the start of the Middle East war.
The message, a clear swipe at the U.S. and Israel, was published on Khamenei’s official website and Telegram account for Islamic Unity Week, which marks the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad.
It marks his latest written communication since succeeding his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the Feb. 28 U.S.-Israeli airstrikes that launched the conflict.
The younger Khamenei, who was injured in the same attack, has not been seen in public and Iranian authorities have released no video or audio footage of him since his appointment.
Urging regional leaders to put aside political divisions, Khamenei framed internal discord as beneficial solely to foreign adversaries, asking whether the Palestinians would have been left "so helpless" had the Muslim world stood united.
"The solution to the problems of the Islamic nations is unity of words, friendship, and cooperation on the path of goodness," Khamenei wrote.
"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 said.
Khamenei specifically urged the monarchies in the Persian Gulf, where relations with Tehran have frayed further following Iranian strikes on U.S. military facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain during the ongoing war.
"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.
He also asked Gulf leaders whether "rogues without identity" would dare covet their lands if regional governments were "united under the flag of Islam."
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Gulf Arab monarchies have viewed Iran's revolutionary ideology, including its anti-monarchic rhetoric and regional influence, as a threat to their political systems.
The Sunday address echoed an earlier statement Khamenei issued Friday calling for domestic solidarity and economic resilience, including a gradual de-dollarization of the Iranian economy to counter an ongoing U.S. naval blockade and long-standing economic sanctions.
"Again, this servant's advice to the Iranian people is to not allow any differences to arise among themselves in any way," Khamenei said, reiterating his warning from Friday that "doing anything detrimental to social cohesion is prohibited."
