Tehran: Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has made a strong appeal for unity among Islamic nations, emphasizing the need for collective strength in defense and resistance against shared enemies. During his Friday address at Tehran’s Grand Mosque, Khamenei urged Muslim countries, from Afghanistan to Yemen, to bolster their defense capabilities and collaborate in the face of external threats. He identified Israel as a common enemy, not just for Iran, but for Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen as well.
Khamenei explained that Israel operates across the region following a systematic pattern, shifting from one target to the next. He stressed that defeating this enemy in one nation would lead to its attempts to infiltrate and destabilize another. The Iranian leader’s remarks come in his first public speech to the nation in five years, following the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in 2020.
The address took place shortly after the commemoration of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, where Khamenei promised that the enemies’ plans would be dismantled and warned that all of Iran’s adversaries, particularly Israel, would face consequences. Khamenei referenced the missile attacks Iran launched on Israel in retaliation for Soleimani’s death, emphasizing that while Israel’s missile defense systems intercepted these, their resolve remains unwavering.
The large crowd gathered at the mosque held up pictures of Soleimani and Nasrallah, voicing a unified promise of revenge. Khamenei’s speech reinforced his vision of Muslim unity as the only path forward to successfully counter external forces and ensure stability within Islamic nations.
