Larijani urges Islamic unity, dismisses criticism over strikes on US bases

2026-03-16 - 15:54

Shafaq News- Tehran The accusations by some Islamic governments against Iran for targeting US bases on their territory were “weak pretexts,” Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, stated on Monday, urging them instead to consider the goal of achieving “unity of the Islamic nation.” In a message addressed to “Muslims around the world and the governments of Islamic countries,” Larijani said Iran had been subjected to what he described as “a deceptive American-Zionist aggression that occurred during negotiations,” adding that the attack aimed to dismantle Iran. “The aggressors, however, faced strong national and Islamic resistance from the Iranian people,” he added, noting, “with rare exceptions and mostly limited to political statements,” no Islamic country had stood alongside the Iranian people. “Nevertheless, the Iranian people, with their strong will, managed to suppress the attacking enemy, which today finds itself unable to find a way out of this strategic predicament,” he stated. Larijani added that Iran would continue “the path of resistance against the greater and lesser devils,” referring to the United States and Israel. He also questioned the stance of some Muslim governments, citing a saying attributed to the Prophet Mohammed: “Whoever hears a man calling ‘O Muslims’ and does not respond is not a Muslim,” asking whether the positions taken by those governments were consistent with that principle. The highly ranked Iranian official accused some countries of going further by declaring Iran an enemy because it targeted American bases and US and Israeli interests located in their territories. “Is Iran expected to remain idle while US bases in your countries are used to attack it?” he asked, stating that the confrontation today was between the United States and Israel on one side and “Muslim Iran and the forces of resistance” on the other. “So which side do you stand with?” he asked. He added that Iran was offering advice and “does not seek to dominate,” concluding that strong unity among Muslim nations could guarantee “security, progress, and independence” for all countries in the Islamic world.