Iran Supreme Leader Urges Unity Amid War With U.S. and Israel

Women walk past a banner depicting Iran's current supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei along a street Tehran on May 6.AFP/Getty Images

PARIS, June 4 (Saudi Arabia Breaking News) — Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei called on Iranians to face the war with the United States and Israel with national unity, according to a written statement attributed to him.

The statement marked the anniversary of the death of the Islamic Republic’s founder.

“In confronting these hostile designs, all members of society must respond with steadfastness, clarity of vision, preservation of unity and cohesion, mutual trust, and by refusing to echo the enemy’s narrative,” Khamenei said in the statement.

Khamenei has been largely absent from public appearances during the conflict, with statements attributed to him read on national television or posted on social media.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this week that he believed Khamenei was alive and “increasingly engaging.”

“I think there are indications out there that he is increasingly engaging at some level,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.