Iran's Supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei calls for Muslim unity against 'enemies of Islam'

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Sunday (August 30) called on Muslim countries across the region to unite against the United States and Israel, in a written message issued six months after the Middle East war started. Khamenei has remained out of public view since assuming the position shortly after his father, Ali Khamenei, was killed at the beginning of the war on February 28. Iranian authorities have so far released no video or audio recording of the new supreme leader.

In his Sunday message, issued as Shia Muslims marked the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed, Khamenei stressed the importance of unity among Islamic nations. "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.

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Khamenei also urged the rulers of regional countries to identify what he described as their main adversary and oppose its strategy. The supreme leader called on the rulers of regional countries to ‘recognise your real enemy, understand its plan, and confront it’, referring to the US and Israel.

During the conflict, Iran launched attacks against US military bases and facilities across the Middle East, including locations in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. The attacks have contributed to strained relations between Tehran and several of those countries, adding to existing regional tensions.

Khamenei, who holds the final authority over major state policies in Iran, also called for greater unity among Iranian officials and the public, urging them to set aside internal differences while confronting 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. In the same Friday statement, Khamenei also called for the gradual de-dollarisation of Iran’s economy and urged greater domestic production to help strengthen economic growth. His economic message comes as Iran continues to face the effects of years of US sanctions, alongside the economic pressure caused by months of a US naval blockade. The measures have placed further strain on livelihoods and economic activity across the country.