Supreme Leader tries to distance Muslim states from US, Pezeshkian says

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday that policies pursued by Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei were aimed at distancing regional countries from the United States and Israel.

Pezeshkian said the enemy had sought to mobilize Arab and Muslim countries against Iran, but that the effort was being countered.

“The policies being pursued today, and which our dear leader is following, are also defeating this plan, so that regional countries distance themselves from the United States and Israel, and this process is moving forward,” he said.

Pezeshkian said he had met the Supreme Leader every week without exception over the past year and a half.

He also said that Iran’s adversaries intended to fuel internal divisions, arguing that no country could be forced to surrender through bombing or threats.

Commenting on the killing of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, he said it was unacceptable that enemy forces could “so easily” kill Iranian commanders and officials.