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, in power since shortly after his father Ali Khamenei was killed at the start of the war on February 28, has yet to be seen in public since his appointment, and authorities have not released any video or audio of him.
“The solution to the problems of the Islamic nations is unity of words, friendship, and cooperation on the path of goodness,” he said Sunday as Shia Muslims marked the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed.
“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 "recognize your real enemy, understand its plan, and confront it," referring to the US and Israel.
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.
“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.
He also called Friday for the gradual de-dollarization 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.
