Iran19 July, 20263 min read
Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf Says National Unity Around Mojtaba Khamenei Is Key Against United States, Israel
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf says sacred unity around the Leader is essential for victory. He frames sacred unity as a strategic requirement, not merely moral.
Al Jazeera was read line by line by the Watchdog: 3.9. See the score →
Unity as battlefield condition
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said preserving national unity is essential for victory against the United States and Israel on the battlefield, framing it as an “indispensable condition” for achieving victory in the “struggle against the enemy.” In a message published on X on Sunday, Qalibaf tied obedience to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei to “historic responsibility” in “national resistance and in governing the country.” The Tehran Times report said Qalibaf made the comments after a message from Khamenei, and it also said President Masoud Pezeshkian “similarly doubled down” on the unified stance on Saturday.
The same Tehran Times account contrasted those statements with US President Donald Trump’s claims that internal fractures and deep divisions exist among Iranian officials and within broader society. The Mehr News Agency similarly reported that Qalibaf described keeping national unity around Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei as the key element to achieve “voctory against enemies,” calling it a strategic requirement for security and resilience.
Khamenei’s message and US strikes
Al Jazeera reported that a message attributed to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei promised “unforgettable lessons” to Washington while also calling for “sacred unity” and urging Iranians to refrain from “division, political disputes, and increases in social differences.” The Al Jazeera account said Khamenei’s call came as fighting between Iran and the United States continued for “eight nights of renewed fighting,” and it described the message as tempering some of his warnings against the US. Al Jazeera also reported that President Masoud Pezeshkian thanked the supreme leader’s “wise” message and highlighted the part where he urged “trust” in the heads of government, parliament and judiciary.
In the ANI report, Qalibaf’s remarks were described as coming “amid the US strikes,” and it quoted him saying, “Insisting on the sacred covenant is not merely a moral or social recommendation; rather, it is an essential condition for victory in the field of struggle against the enemy.” ANI further said Khamenei called the United States “Great Satan” and stated it was no longer capable of maintaining a “trouble-free, domineering presence” across West Asia.
Front presented across institutions
The Al Jazeera report said other officials strove to present a united front after Mojtaba Khamenei’s statement, including Ali Abdollahi, the head of Iran’s wartime joint command, who vowed that the armed forces will heed Khamenei’s directive for “sacred unity and national cohesion.” Al Jazeera also reported that Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the parliament speaker, said following Khamenei’s directive is critical to Iran’s success, tweeting in Persian on Sunday that obedience to the decree is an important part of “national resistance and governance of the country.” In the Tehran Times account, the “prompt, synchronized statements from the presidency, parliament, and judiciary” were described as demonstrating that the Islamic Republic remains “a single, unyielding front.”
“Ali Abdollahi, the head of Iran’s wartime joint command, vowed that the armed forces will heed Khamenei’s directive for ‘sacred unity and national cohesion’.”
ANI added that Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran had suspended its commitments under the interim MoU, accusing the US of breaching the deal as Washington carried out a seventh consecutive night of strikes on Iran. Across the coverage, the core political message was that unity and obedience to the Leader’s guidance are treated as prerequisites for victory during the ongoing conflict, with Qalibaf repeatedly urging Iranians to view compliance as a religious and national duty.