Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for a united national front to confront what he described as United States efforts to subjugate the Islamic Republic. Times of Israel reports that Khamenei, delivering remarks at a mosque in Tehran, said Washington and its allies were seeking to destabilize Iran following the recent conflict with Israel, which briefly drew in US military involvement. His comments, published on his official website, come two months after fighting ended between Iran and Israel and as Tehran engages in sensitive talks with world powers over its nuclear prog

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for a united national front to confront what he described as United States efforts to subjugate the Islamic Republic. Times of Israel reports that Khamenei, delivering remarks at a mosque in Tehran, said Washington and its allies were seeking to destabilize Iran following the recent conflict with Israel, which briefly drew in US military involvement. His comments, published on his official website, come two months after fighting ended between Iran and Israel and as Tehran engages in sensitive talks with world powers over its nuclear program. Khamenei argued that the rare Israeli and US strikes in June, which targeted key nuclear facilities and triggered Iranian retaliation, were designed to undermine the country. He claimed that a day after “Iran was attacked” by Israel at the start of the war, “American agents” met in Europe “to discuss what government should rule Iran after the Islamic Republic.” “The United States ultimately seeks to make Iran obedient to it,” Khamenei said. He vowed that “the Iranian nation will stand with all of its power against those who have such erroneous expectations.” Khamenei credited Iran’s resilience during the conflict to unity between its people, government, and military. “The Iranian nation, by standing firm alongside the armed forces, the government and the system, delivered a strong blow” to its enemies, he declared. The Supreme Leader also warned of internal strife, accusing foreign powers of trying to fuel discord within the country. “The way forward for the enemy is to create discord,” he said, blaming “agents of America and the Zionist regime” for seeking to stir division. “Today, thanks to God, the country is united,” Khamenei added. “There are differences of opinion, but when it comes to defending the system, defending the country, and standing up against the enemy, the people are united.” Meanwhile, diplomatic signals suggest Tehran may be willing to soften its stance on nuclear enrichment in order to avoid renewed sanctions. According to a report by The Telegraph, Iranian officials have indicated that the country would be prepared to scale back its uranium enrichment program in a bid to prevent Britain from reinstating United Nations sanctions. Unnamed officials cited by the report said Tehran is considering easing its hardline approach to forestall the risk of further strikes by Israel or the United States. The article further noted that Ali Larijani, a senior adviser to Khamenei and the newly appointed secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, is pushing Iran’s leadership to agree to reduce enrichment levels from the current 60% purity to 20%. European powers have warned that without concrete progress on the nuclear issue by the end of the month, they are prepared to trigger “snapback” sanctions against Iran; penalties that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal.  

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