Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei Image:AP
Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, issued a written message on Friday (March 20, 2026) on the occasion of the Persian New Year (Nowruz) and the accompanying Eid al-Fitr holiday.
In his statement, the leader categorically denied Iran’s involvement in recent military attacks against Türkiye and Oman; Instead he alleged that the attacks were a ‘Zionist ploy’ perpetrated by Israel to isolate Tehran from its neighbors.
Zionist enemy moves
The message, which was broadcast on state television and released through official channels, comes just three weeks after the assassination of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. His father was killed on February 28 in a major joint air operation between the US and Israel.
Mojtaba Khamenei, whose succession was confirmed by the ‘Assembly of Experts’ amid the ongoing conflict, used the important occasion to refute claims that Iran or its regional allies were behind the attacks that destabilized the Gulf and Anatolia.
“The Islamic Republic and its allied forces in the region had nothing to do with the attacks on our brothers in Oman and Turkey,” the Supreme Leader said. He further claimed that these operations were “plots of the Zionist enemy” aimed at “sowing division among regional nations” and undermining the shared “faith and interests” between Iran and its neighbors.
‘I traveled anonymously in a taxi’
The 2026 conflict, which was triggered by a surprise attack by the US called “Operation Epic Fury”, has seen a rapid increase in regional hostilities. While Tehran has claimed responsibility for several retaliatory attacks on energy infrastructure and military targets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, Mojtaba Khamenei’s latest comments appear to be aimed at reducing tensions with Ankara and Muscat.
Speaking on the internal situation in the country, the Supreme Leader described the ongoing war as a “big mistake” made by Washington and Tel Aviv. He stressed that the strategy of rendering the regime “leader-less” through the assassination of top leaders, including his father and several high-ranking IRGC officials, had failed to cause any major crisis within the country. On the contrary, he claimed that the conflict has fostered a “unique unity” among the Iranian people.
Let us tell you that Khamenei has not been seen anywhere in public since he was elected as his father’s successor earlier this month, and it was not clear how or when he visited the Iranian capital. The statement said, “For some time, for example, I walked with you anonymously through the streets of Tehran in a taxi arranged at my own request and listened to you; and I considered such a sample better than many surveys.”
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