Mojtaba Khamenei Urges Gulf Unity Against “Real Enemy” as Iran Trade Slumps 35%

3 articles · Updated · NBC News · Aug 30

Mojtaba Khamenei used an Islamic Unity Week message to urge Gulf rulers and other Muslim states to identify their “real enemy,” deepen cooperation and mutual defence, and stop divisions he said aid Islam’s adversaries.
The appeal comes six months into the U.S.-Israeli war that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and injured Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since the strikes that launched the conflict.
His outreach jars with Gulf distrust of Iran since 1979 and with Tehran’s wartime strikes on U.S. facilities and other infrastructure in Gulf states, which have sharpened regional tensions.
Iranian leaders also acknowledged mounting economic strain: President Masoud Pezeshkian said exports and imports have fallen nearly 35% under U.S. sanctions and a naval blockade, while the government pledged inflation control, job creation and less dollar reliance.
Tehran still signaled no retreat, vowing to maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz and revive the June 17 interim deal that briefly allowed oil sales—Pezeshkian said Iran sold about 90 million barrels during that window.