‘Sacred unity’: Iran’s supreme leader calls for calm amid political divides

What the report says

Al Jazeera reported that a message attributed to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei urged Iranians and state officials to preserve “sacred unity” as renewed fighting with the United States entered an eighth night. The message, published amid escalating exchanges between Tehran and Washington, warned Iran’s adversaries not to see weakness while calling for an end to internal disputes and social divisions.

The appeal followed a backlash from hardline supporters of the Islamic Republic over a memorandum of understanding with the US. According to Al Jazeera, Khamenei had previously said he approved the arrangement after President Masoud Pezeshkian, who chairs the Supreme National Security Council, accepted responsibility for it, despite Khamenei saying he personally held a different view. The deal, intended to pause months of conflict, has since been suspended by Tehran and was already close to collapse after recent clashes linked to the Strait of Hormuz.

The dispute exposed pressure on senior officials involved in the agreement. Al Jazeera reported that hardline critics accused officials of treason, heckled leaders at funeral ceremonies for the assassinated former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and that clerical lawmaker Mahmoud Nabavian was removed from parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee after reading classified material on live television.

Since the latest statement, senior military and political figures have echoed the unity message. Wartime commander Ali Abdollahi pledged compliance with Khamenei’s directive while warning of retaliation against US attacks. Pezeshkian and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also publicly backed the call. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi continued to support a negotiated end, but Al Jazeera reported there was no sign of either side returning to talks.