Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei released a written message marking Islamic Unity Week that recommended rulers of Islamic countries focus on shared threats. The annual observance, which originated after the Iranian Revolution to bridge divides between Sunni and Shia communities, has featured similar appeals for solidarity in past decades according to historical records on Khamenei.ir. Khamenei warned that internal divisions played into the hands of external actors and advocated for cooperation and mutual defence across the Muslim world.
Khamenei said in the statement, «My emphatic and repeated recommendation to the rulers of Islamic countries, particularly those in West Asia and along the Persian Gulf, is to identify your true enemy, understand its plan and confront it.» He identified the United States and Israel as forces seeking to sow discord among Muslim states, a theme that has appeared in addresses by Iranian leaders during previous Islamic Unity Week events documented by Wikipedia. The message argued that enhanced unity would better equip nations to safeguard their interests.
Arab Times reported on August 30, 2026, that the message arrived against a backdrop of elevated tensions with Gulf neighbours following Iranian drone and missile activity in the region earlier that year. A review by the Middle East Council on Global Affairs placed at least 28 deaths across GCC states during the period of strikes, which also prompted force majeure declarations by energy firms in Qatar and Kuwait. The assessment found that attacks disrupted LNG production and oil operations while closing the Strait of Hormuz for a time.
Data compiled by ACLED indicated that Iran and associated groups carried out at least 172 strikes on non-military infrastructure in the six GCC countries from late February to late July 2026. Energy sites including power plants, desalination facilities and oil refineries accounted for 48 percent of those incidents according to the ACLED report, with Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates registering the largest shares. Airports, ports and commercial hubs sustained additional damage that affected regional supply chains.
The Arab Times account detailed that civilian areas bore much of the impact, with dozens killed and hundreds injured, many of them expatriate workers supporting local infrastructure. Air raid alerts and debris from intercepted projectiles led to flight cancellations and temporary evacuations in several locations. Gulf officials repeatedly stated that their territories had not served as launch points for actions against Iran.
Mojtaba Khamenei assumed the role of supreme leader after U.S.-Israeli airstrikes killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in February 2026. The Iranian regime has said he directs affairs from a secure site as he recovers from wounds sustained in the same attack. Separate reporting from ABC News on August 30, 2026, noted that no verified public photographs, videos or audio recordings of him have surfaced during the six-month period, prompting discussion about his status.
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