Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has appealed for greater solidarity among Muslim nations, particularly those in the Gulf, urging leaders and peoples to recognize and confront what he described as their "real enemy." The message was published on Khamenei's Telegram account to mark Islamic Unity Week, which commemorates the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad.
In the statement, Khamenei stressed the importance of unity in a range of domains, including cooperation and mutual defence, and warned that any action that creates divisions among Muslims - whether "knowingly or unknowingly" - serves the interests of Islam's adversaries. He posed a rhetorical question about the plight of Palestinians, asking whether they would have been left "so helpless" had Muslims presented a united front.
The Supreme Leader has not been seen in public since sustaining injuries in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes six months ago that launched the Iran war, a campaign the message said resulted in the death of his father and previous supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In remarks to Iranians on the preceding Friday, he said he had banned actions that harm social cohesion and urged authorities to avoid what he termed "discouraging statements" that could weaken national and public morale.
Khamenei specifically addressed rulers of Gulf Arab states, asking 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." He reiterated a direct recommendation to regional leaders to clearly identify their true adversary, to understand that adversary's plans, and to confront them.
"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.
The message underscores enduring tensions between Tehran and Gulf monarchies, which, since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, 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, Iran has struck U.S. military facilities as well as other infrastructure in Gulf states, highlighting the security frictions that the Supreme Leader referenced.
Khamenei's written appeal for unity arrives against a backdrop of regional confrontation and political sensitivity, with the leader stressing that internal divisions can play into the hands of external opponents. The statement blends religious commemoration with a call for political and security alignment among Muslim nations, particularly in West Asia and the Gulf.