Unite against real enemy: Mojtaba Khamenei calls on Gulf states in written note

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has urged Muslim countries, particularly Gulf states, to unite against what he called their “real enemy”, warning that divisions among Muslims serve the interests of their adversaries.

Khamenei issued the message in writing on his Telegram account during Islamic Unity Week, which marks the birthday of Prophet Muhammad. He called for Muslim unity, cooperation in various fields and mutual defence, saying that anyone who creates divisions among Muslims, “knowingly or unknowingly,” helps Islam’s enemies.

He also questioned whether Palestinians would have been left “so helpless” if Muslims had remained united.

Khamenei specifically addressed Gulf Arab rulers, 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."

“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.

His call for unity echoes a statement he made to Iranians on Friday. He said he had banned actions that harm social cohesion and urged authorities to avoid “discouraging statements” that weaken national and public morale.

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

Since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, Gulf Arab monarchies have viewed the country’s revolutionary ideology, including its anti-monarchic rhetoric and regional influence, as a threat to their political systems.

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

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