Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has urged national unity and warned against attempts to undermine internal cohesion during a surprise appearance at a meeting with merchants and trade guild representatives.
Pezeshkian’s call came after a recent meeting with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei that lasted nearly two and a half hours. Khamenei has not been seen in public since his appointment in early March.
“What struck me most during this meeting was the vision and the humble and sincere approach of the supreme leader of the revolution," the president said in a video broadcast by state television on Thursday.
“I consider unity and cohesion more important than anything else; if we have endured until now, it is because of unity and cohesion,” he added.
Leader urges unity, acceptance
The Iranian leader said the “enemy believed that people would become dissatisfied because of the war and take to the streets, and target security and military centres in line with that assumption.”
“Without any shame, they openly say they acted like pirates and are seeking to break Iran apart,” he warned, without naming any country.
Pezeshkian acknowledged the economic difficulties facing the country, saying inflation and rising prices have become global challenges while Iran has also faced additional hardships “being in the midst of war.”
“We have one path: either stand with the people and accept all citizens despite differing views so that we do not surrender to the enemy, or submit to humiliation and defeat.”
Not seen in public since March
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not been seen in public since his appointment in early March.
Khamenei, allegedly wounded in strikes on the first day of the US-Israeli war on Iran that claimed the life of his father and predecessor Ali Khamenei, has released only written statements since his appointment.
His 86-year-old father was killed after more than three decades at the helm of the country. Ali Khamenei himself had succeeded the founder of the republic Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989.
Mojtaba's appointment by Iran's Assembly of Experts, an 88-member body responsible for selecting the supreme leader, was announced by state television on March 9.
Since then, portraits of the 56-year-old have become ubiquitous in the streets of Iran, but the new leader has been conspicuous in his absence from the public stage, in stark contrast to frequent appearances made by his father.
