Iran’s New Supreme Leader Urges Gulf States to Unite Against “Real Enemy” in First Major Message
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei called on Muslim nations, especially Gulf states, to set aside their differences and confront what he described as their common adversary, in a written message published Sunday that marked one of his most significant public statements since taking office.
The message, posted to Khamenei’s Telegram account to mark Islamic Unity Week, coincides with the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad and calls for cooperation, mutual defence and solidarity among Muslim countries.
Khamenei warned that anyone sowing division among Muslims — intentionally or not — was ultimately serving the interests of Islam’s enemies, and he singled out Gulf Arab rulers directly, urging them to recognise their real threat and act against it together.
He went further, suggesting that Palestinians would not have been left so vulnerable had the wider Muslim world stood united, and asked whether outside powers would have dared threaten Gulf territory and resources had regional governments rallied under a shared Islamic banner.
The appeal carries particular weight given the circumstances surrounding it. Khamenei has not appeared publicly since sustaining injuries in the US-Israeli strikes six months ago that opened the ongoing war and killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s previous supreme leader.
His public communications since assuming the role have come entirely through written statements. Just days earlier, he told Iranians he had prohibited actions that undermine social cohesion and called on officials to refrain from rhetoric that saps national morale.
The Gulf relationship Khamenei is appealing to remains historically fraught. Gulf Arab monarchies have long regarded Iran’s post-1979 revolutionary ideology, including its opposition to hereditary rule and its regional proxy networks, as a direct challenge to their own political systems.
That tension has sharpened further during the current conflict, with Iran striking American military installations and other targets inside Gulf states — underscoring the very divisions Khamenei’s message now seeks to overcome.
