Iran’s Supreme Leader has initiated a significant counteroffensive against President Donald Trump, aiming to unite Middle Eastern nations into a coalition against the United States, an analyst cautioned on Sunday.
This assertive strategy unfolded shortly after President Trump proposed expanding the Abraham Accords. According to the analyst, Tehran is striving to establish itself as the region’s dominant force, compelling Gulf states that maintain informal ties with Iran to make a choice between the security offered by Washington and a “New Islamic Civilization.”
As of Sunday, discussions between Iran and the United States appeared to be ongoing, with President Trump yet to approve a potential peace agreement.
Recently, President Trump engaged in a phone conversation with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain to discuss the possibility of broadening the 2020 Abraham Accords. This was followed by a May 25 post on his platform, Truth Social.
KHAMENEI OF IRAN UNLEASHES FIERY CRITICISM OF TRUMP FOLLOWING MIDDLE EAST TOUR
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, and UAE’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan were present during the Abraham Accords signing ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on September 15, 2020. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg)
Mojtaba Khamenei issued a direct counter-response on X on May 26, issuing a call for a “New Islamic Civilization” aimed at those same regional capitals.
“I, with sincerity and purity of intention, invite all Islamic countries and governments to friendship and cooperation in goodness, so that by working together we may take steps toward the advancement of the Islamic Ummah and the resolution of the Islamic world’s problems,” Khamenei posted.
Highlighting “the nations of the region” and “common interests that will shape the new order and the future architecture of the region and the world,” he spoke of “the Islamic Ummah and the #New_Islamic_Civilization.”
“The United States will no longer have a safe haven for its mischief and for establishing military bases in West Asia,” he also warned.
“Mojtaba Khamenei’s statement is that the Muslim world should consolidate under Iran’s leadership — the ‘Ummah,’ the ‘new Islamic civilization’ — against the American-led order,” Dr. Omar Mohammed told Fox News Digital.
“That is the theme, and it runs straight into the Accords narrative. This is a bid to build an alliance against the Abraham Accords,” said Mohammed, director of the Antisemitism Research Initiative Program on Extremism at George Washington University.
TOP ISRAELI MILITARY OFFICIAL REVEALS OPERATION AGAINST IRAN INVOLVED ‘STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL DECEPTION’
In this picture obtained from Iran’s ISNA news agency, Mojtaba Khamenei (C), son of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, walks along a street in Tehran on May 31, 2019. (Hamid FOROUTAN / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images)
“In his statement, he also frames American bases on Muslim soil as an occupation to be expelled while wrapping it in religious language that casts the regime as God’s instrument.”
The counterterrorism expert noted that while the “Ummah” doctrine itself is not new — having been used by Mojtaba’s father for years — the timing and targeted nature of the pitch represent a major escalation.
“This came into the Ummah with Iran, not into normalization with Israel under Washington,” Mohammed explained. “Same audience, opposite frame, 24 hours apart, and a bid to assemble that alliance.”
“The statement was published in full and carried by Iranian state media. It also tracks with his first statement as leader on March 12, when he demanded that U.S. bases in the region close.”
“This was not a stray post,” the expert warned. “While the doctrine is old, aiming it at these regions the day after Trump’s pitch is what is new.”
The posturing comes as Khamenei establishes his footing on the world stage, though his hidden nature complicates traditional diplomacy.
IRAN’S ‘STUNNING STRATEGIC MISCALCULATION’ COULD ACCELERATE GULF TIES TO ISRAEL, EX-CENTCOM DIRECTOR PREDICTS
President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pose for photos with leaders during the Gulf Cooperation Council Leaders’ Summit at The Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 14, 2025. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
“Tehran is selling itself to the region as the new sheriff of the neighborhood,” Mohammed warned.
“The Saudis, Qataris and Omanis have channels into the Iranian state, but you can’t open a back channel to a man no one can locate. This has all been running through Pezeshkian and Araghchi.”
Despite Iran’s sudden rhetoric of “friendship,” regional reality is defined by months of Iranian aggression against its neighbors.
Tehran’s forces have actively fired upon Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait.
Mohammed added that Tehran wants to peel Gulf states away from Washington, while its threats remain aimed at both the United States and the countries that host American forces.
“Iran spent this war firing on them — it hit Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait, the same capitals it’s now inviting to brotherhood, and the UAE alone reported intercepting close to 2,000 drones and hundreds of ballistic missiles since Feb. 28,” Mohammed said.
“These are the states that host our forces: the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, Al Dhafra in the UAE and Al Udeid in Qatar. You don’t take three months of Iranian fire and then sign onto its alliance.”
Ultimately, Gulf capitals remain deeply skeptical of Tehran, Mohammed said, but they are equally watchful of American resolve.
“What actually worries the Gulf isn’t Mojtaba’s invitation — it’s the deal Washington might sign,” Mohammed noted, “one that hands Iran its money back with its missiles intact and reads as rewarding the regime that just attacked them.”
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