Mojtaba Khamenei calls for Muslim unity to confront their “real enemy,” Israel and the US

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Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has issued a call for Muslim unity, urging Gulf rulers to confront what he identifies as their "real enemy," while simultaneously launching missile attacks against US forces in Jordan and the UAE. This contradictory approach highlights a state of hypocrisy and isolation within the Iranian regime, which attempts to rebrand itself under the banner of Islamic solidarity after months of regional conflict. Experts argue that this rhetoric reflects a desperate attempt by Tehran to pressure Arab leaders into abandoning their current alliances with the United States, yet it also reveals a fundamental denial by Iran's leadership regarding the drastic changes in the regional order since October 7th. The regime appears unable to accept its diminished influence and continues to operate under outdated assumptions about its power and role in the Middle East. The strategic implications of these actions are being closely watched, particularly in light of President Trump's characterization of Iran as a failed state on the brink of collapse. Analysts suggest that while attacking neighbors may be politically incorrect, it serves to expose the true colors and dangerous nature of the Iranian regime to both regional and global audiences. Countries like the UAE and Bahrain have already chosen to distance themselves from Tehran, whereas others like Qatar are navigating a more complex path. The economic fallout from these attacks has been severe, especially for the UAE, which faces significant financial repercussions alongside military threats. This pressure is forcing Gulf states to reassess their security strategies, as they can no longer rely on the US as a guaranteed ally and must seek alternative partnerships to protect their economic interests and stability. In response to this shifting landscape, Saudi Arabia has taken a bold step by signing a mutual defense pact with Turkey and Pakistan, creating what some call a "diplomatic earthquake" in the Gulf. This move underscores Saudi Arabia's realization that it cannot depend on Washington for its security and must instead forge independent alliances to counter Iranian aggression. However, this new bloc has not gone unchallenged; Egypt has explicitly declined to join the agreement, citing its need to maintain a strategic balance between various actors, including Iran, and its refusal to engage in conflicts outside its own territory. The formation of this pact signals a deepening rift within the Arab world, as each nation increasingly prioritizes its immediate survival and economic preservation over broader ideological alignments or historical rivalries. Looking ahead, experts warn that the Iranian regime, like a wounded animal, may become more dangerous as it faces mounting internal and external pressures from sanctions and military defeats. While Israel is preparing for potential further escalations to eliminate remaining Iranian capabilities, Iran might continue targeting its neighbors to disrupt oil exports and destabilize the region before resorting to direct attacks on Israel. The slow but certain process of implosion within Iran's leadership suggests that their caution over nearly five decades has finally given way to desperation. As economic sanctions take their toll and financial repercussions mount, the region remains in a precarious stalemate where every nation is focused on protecting its own interests amidst an increasingly volatile security environment.

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Well, just yesterday, Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, or a message that purported to be from him, appeals for Muslim unity, urging Gulf rulers to confront their real enemy. No prizes for guessing who that might be. Well, just hours later, Iran launched missiles at US forces in Jordan and the UAE. So, what is the message Tehran is trying to send to its Arab neighbors and how should they respond? Middle East scholar, Dalia Ziada, joins us now. Great to have you with us, Dalia. Always good to see you. So, um the Arab countries in the Persian Gulf have really had a tough time of it over the past 6 months, haven't they? They've really been in the firing line. Are they just [snorts] going to have to accept that this is the new normal for now because we are in a bit of a stalemate situation, aren't we? >> Uh first of all, so happy to see you, Laura, here again. Welcome back. It's so exciting. Uh and your question, which is unfortunately uh related to not so exciting events happening in the region right now, it does not only reflect that usual state of hypocrisy that we saw coming from the Iranian regime over the years, but it also most importantly reflects two things. First, a state of iso- isolation, feeling of isolation by the regime. They are appealing to Arab states to come to their side now and all of a sudden abandon the US in order under the banner of Islamic unity or Islamic solidarity. And they expect that the Arab countries would respond. And if you look closely to the language even Mojtaba used, uh it was very much like uh Western Zionist using the language that he knows what appeal to certain factions within Arab societies that may put a pressure on the leaders to take the side of Iran or maybe pressure the US. THE OTHER THINGS THIS situation reflects in the Iranian regime today actually is a state of denial. They are still unaware that the region has a changed much since October 7th and we are now seeing a completely different regional order that they still cannot accept and cannot deal with where they don't have an influential role in. So, I believe it's it's it just reflects how weak the Iranian regime has become today. >> Dalia, please stay with me. I want to bring in Ruth Wasserman Land that has just joined us in the studio. Ruth is a former member of the Knesset and she's now a student fellow at the Misgav Institute. Good to see you with as always. I just want to kind of backtrack a little bit on what President Trump said today cuz he has said a lot. He's been on social media talking about Iran calling it a failed state. They're on the brink of collapse and all the rest of it, but he also said that it was a good thing that Iran had been attacking its neighbors in the Gulf, the Arab countries, you know, America's allies because he said that revealed Iran's true face. Just what are your thoughts on that somewhat risky strategy? >> So, I'm not sure it's a risky strategy. I think it's a matter of being politically incorrect, which is something that is not new with President Trump, but he is right not because it's good that the Islamic Republic of Iran attacked those countries on the contrary, but it is good that it is quite obvious to many countries in the region and beyond the true colors of that particular regime and how dangerous it is. Now, it's not that they didn't know before. UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, all of those countries knew exactly what the Iranian regime is and different countries chose to deal with it in a different manner. Some chose to sort of have close ties with that regime in order to keep it at bay. Others were a little bit more cool, but now things are more acute and these countries need choose a route and some of them have chosen a very clear route, like the United Arab Emirates, and others a less clear-cut route, like Qatar, for example. >> is um interestingly, one of the countries that has been hardest hit economically by the attacks by Iran. So, that is interesting as well. Let me bring Dalia back. I mean, every time Dalia, I've spoken to analysts from the Gulf, I mean, the moment when they were most horrified and most frightened was when the memorandum of understanding was signed back in June, when President Trump was offering, you know, hundreds of billions of dollars to the Iranian regime. They were saying, "No, you can't start this and not finish the job." I mean, is is that still the attitude as far as your experience goes? >> Of course. FIRST OF ALL, it was shocking to all of us. Of course, LIKE THE THE MEMORANDUM I'D LIKE to call it the memorandum of misunderstanding, because it reflected somehow that the US did not understand that this enemy is not coming back on the at US assets, but to coming at everyone in the region as a revenge for what happened. SO, OF COURSE, EVERYBODY WAS FRIGHTENED, especially in Gulf Arab states that are adjacent to this horrific regime, this terrible regime. Also, most interestingly in the developments that happened after this memorandum of understanding is that not only the usual Arab states that are already against Iran ideology that changed their policies, but even countries that were supposed to be called allies to Iran, like Qatar and Pakistan, for example. Qatar, its diplomatic pressure on the US to move things in the direction that service or let's say rescue or save the Iranian regime has exchanged dramatically since then. And on the other side, Pakistan, which was a great ally of Iran for so long, of the Iranian regime, is now taking the side of Saudi Arabia, signing defense agreements with Saudi Arabia, which if we bought into Sunni-Shia context of the conflict, it would be really striking. >> Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that. This is the Mecca pact, of course. We've had Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan all signing this mutual defense agreement which says that if one is attacked, the others will come to its defense. And Saudi Arabia has kind of gone out [clears throat] on a limb compared to the other GCC countries. Do you think that has created tensions between Saudi Arabia and the other Arab states? >> Sadly, yes. There is a lot of tension. I would say there is some kind of a diplomatic earthquake in the Gulf as a result of this war, the Iran war, and as a result also of the attacks they are enduring during enduring as part of this war. And thus, each of them started to be more focused on their immediate interests, local interests, and trying to protect themselves not only through out the process, but after. Because the biggest loss for any Gulf state is not military loss or territory loss, actually. I mean, specifically, but most importantly, economic loss. It's where their power is. They don't want to lose that, and any disturbance in the region, any instability, of course, leads to that. And this is exactly what Saudi Arabia wanted to do. They cannot rely on the US as an ally anymore, especially after this memorandum. They don't They don't see another alternative in Egypt, for example, that has the strongest Arab military. And thus, they had to look for alternatives in Pakistan, in Turkey, and otherwise. >> Do you think Egypt will join the pact ultimately? >> I don't think so, no. Egypt is not interested in joining the pact at all, and in closed circles and open circles, they said they cannot do that for several reasons. That has to do first with the ideology of not like the military ideology of not fighting outside their territory, not going to another country Saudi Arabia for example if engaged in a war they would not go and defend Saudi Arabia or or send troops there. The other thing is actually Egypt is having this the foreign minister said it openly they have this what they call a strategic balance. They want to keep relations with Arabs and with Iran at the same time. They don't want to to work with Israel and Hamas at the same time. So they don't want to lose Iran unfortunately so of course they will not openly take the side of the side of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. >> Dalia great to talk to you. Thank you so much Dalia Ziada there. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> And Risa if I could just get a word with you before we go to the break. Do you think we're in the end game with Iran? We just saw the first escalation in a month. Where do you see things headed from here? >> I've seen for a while that there is a slow but certain process of implosion amidst the leadership in Iran. There was an infiltration of intelligence by several Western countries headed by the United States of America but also there's a very very strong effect economic effect because of the sanctions because of what is happening surrounding Iran by the United States of America. It is taking effect. The United Arab Emirates has also recently taken steps banking wise >> had huge consequences hasn't it? >> Huge consequences with financial repercussions and yes there is a very significant effect on the Iranian internal arena not only for the people themselves but now we see it also on the leadership and despite the fact that they've been cautioning themselves for the past 47 years for precisely this moment. So, there is a very significant impact. Again, I remind that a wounded animal is a very dangerous one, and the more pressured they are, uh the more dangerous they'll become, and they'll consider using uh very um unorthodox mechanisms with which to hurt the surrounding area. >> Do you think they'll attack Israel primarily, or will they continue to attack their neighbors? >> that they may attack Israel, but that will be their last uh choice, because the repercussions of that are very, very significant. In fact, Israel is just waiting for a, you know, the reason uh to really do what it feels it needs to do, uh and to take out what it needs to take out, the last remainder thereof in Iran. >> I mean, ultimately, it would appear that the Iranians have underestimated Trump. They thought he would have folded by now. >> I think that there was a series of miscalculations here, uh but there's also, you know, uh a series of other things that have taken place. For example, the United Arab Emirates and its very firm stance, as opposed to other countries in the region. What they've been very successful at, the Islamic Republic of Iran, is getting the Houthis to attack Saudi Arabia and to prevent Saudi Arabia from exporting oil from different uh uh exits, rather than the Strait of Hormuz. This is something that they've been very, very successful at, and yet I believe that the impact of the financial and the economic uh situation will wear them down. By the way, not tomorrow or the next day, or next week, or in 2 weeks' time. We still have time, but it's taking its toll.