Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Sunday called on leaders of Muslim countries, and particularly those in the Gulf, to stand together against Israel and the United States, imploring them to “know your real enemy.”

The written message addressed to religious leaders who attended a conference in Tehran was published on Khamenei’s Telegram account for Islamic Unity Week, which marks the birthday of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.

It called for Muslim unity, cooperation in various fields, and mutual defense, saying anyone who creates division among Muslims, “knowingly or unknowingly,” helps Islam’s enemies.

“The solution to the problems of the Islamic nations is unity of words, friendship, and cooperation on the path of goodness,” Khamenei wrote. “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.”

“My enduring and repeating advice to rulers of Islamic nations,” he wrote, “is to know your real enemy, understand its plans and confront it.”

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

Khamenei has not been seen in public since being injured in the US-Israeli airstrikes on February 28 that launched the Iran war and killed his father and predecessor as supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

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

© The Times of Israel