Mojtaba Khamenei touts new anti-US alliance as Gulf backchannels seep into Tehran: analyst
Iran's supreme leader has launched a sweeping counteroffensive against President Donald Trump, attempting to rally Middle Eastern nations into an anti-American alliance, an analyst warned Sunday.
The aggressive maneuvering came hours after Trump pitched an expansion of the Abraham Accords, as an analyst said Tehran is seeking to position itself as the region’s "new sheriff" while forcing Gulf states with backchannels to Iran to choose between Washington’s security umbrella and a "New Islamic Civilization."
On Sunday, negotiations between Iran and the United States appeared to be ongoing, with Trump not yet signing off on a potential peace agreement.
Trump recently held a phone call with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain to discuss expanding the 2020 Abraham Accords, followed by a May 25 post on Truth Social.
IRAN'S KHAMENEI LAUNCHES BLISTERING ATTACK ON TRUMP AFTER MIDDLE EAST VISIT
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.
"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.
"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."