Iran’s supreme leader says adversaries are using hybrid warfare

TEHRAN: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday that the country’s opponents had shifted to what he described as hybrid warfare after suffering a decisive setback, according to a message issued on the anniversary of the death of the Islamic republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

The message, shared on his official X account and carried by Iranian media, marked Mojtaba Khamenei’s first public communication since he was named supreme leader on March 8. His remarks were recited by a prayer leader at Khomeini’s mausoleum during events held on the 37th anniversary of the founder’s death.

In the message, Khamenei said Iran’s adversaries were now trying to erode public resilience and sow divisions among state officials after failing on other fronts.

"The malicious enemy has been defeated in its confrontation with the armed forces. Since it has received a decisive blow both in military combat and in Iran’s public squares and streets, it’s experiencing a profound and significant humiliation. It has concentrated its efforts on two objectives in the framework of hybrid warfare: weakening the people’s resilience and creating miscalculations among the country’s officials."

He also linked the confrontation to the United States and Israel, saying Western-led imperialism had built Israel into a military outpost over decades and opposed the existence of what he called a strong and independent Iran.

"Imperialism, led by the US, has built a military base called Israel over the past 80 years. And they don’t accept the existence of a strong, independent Iran on the eastern border of the false, illegitimate geography of ‘Greater Israel’ — that is, east of the Euphrates River."

Khamenei further warned that what he called the malicious enemy was trying to spread uncertainty, fear, mistrust and division among the public. He urged people to respond with unity, awareness and steadfastness. "In confronting these ill intentions, everyone must, through steadfastness, insight, preserving unity and cohesion … neutralise their sinister plot."

He also addressed the conduct of Iranian officials, saying any action that created pessimism or disappointment among the public amounted to helping the country’s enemies. Press TV separately reported this part of the message.

The commemoration took place under unusual circumstances. After Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s death in 1989, Ali Khamenei became supreme leader and continued in that role until he was assassinated on February 28 this year during US and Israeli attacks that triggered a regional war. That conflict was later halted under a ceasefire agreement on April 8, but direct and mediated talks aimed at securing a permanent settlement have not produced an agreement.

For decades, Ali Khamenei had personally addressed the annual June 4 ceremony. This year, footage from the mausoleum showed an empty chair carrying his portrait. The live broadcast also showed portraits of Mojtaba Khamenei and the two previous supreme leaders displayed at the site in southern Tehran, while attendees waved Iranian flags and banners of the Lebanese group Hezbollah.