Muslim world should openly support people of #Bahrain, #Kashmir, #Yemen, etc and repudiate oppressors& tyrants who attacked ppl in #Ramadan. — Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) 1498453667000

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NEW DELHI: Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei raised eyebrows when he tweeted “Muslim world should openly support people of Bahrain, Kashmir , Yemen, etc and repudiate oppressors & tyrants who attacked people in Ramadan.”As part of his Eid address, the Ayatollah tried to bring together the global Islamic community by identifying common enemies — in this case Saudi Arabia and the Sunni Arabs as well as India. Khamenei also tried to revive the old Muslim versus Jew divide by bringing up the Palestine issue as the reason for a full fledged Islamic jihad against Israel. "Palestine is the first important issue of the Muslim world. According to the Islamic Fiqh (jurisprudence), when an enemy dominates Muslim lands, Jihad is the duty of all, in any form possible. Today, the fight against the Zionist regime is obligatory for the Muslim world. Why do some abandon this job?"His question is interesting, because in the Middle East political cauldron, the old Arab versus Israel battle no longer holds. For that matter, the Palestine cause has flagged in recent times, as the Islamic world has found itself convulsed in revolutions and extremist Islamist groups wreaking havoc from Iraq and Libya to Afghanistan and beyond.Iran is part of the big sectarian war currently under way in the Middle East, which explains Khamenei’s reference to Yemen and Bahrain — these are territories Iran would like to bring within its sphere of influence and where they are engaged in a bitter battle with Saudi Arabia-led alliance.In his speech he said, “The enemy uses ethnic, religious and geographical excuses to sow discord. Conflict and division are detrimental to Islam and the Muslim Nation; on the other hand, togetherness of Islamic countries and avoiding the use of force against each other is in accordance with divine wisdom and in the interest of all Islamic countries."Bringing Kashmir into this could mean a number of things.First, it could be an attempt to draw Islamic attention on Kashmir and India. That would be surprising. In 1994, Iran braved opposition from other Muslim countries to take India’s side on Kashmir at the UN Human Rights Commission.Second, it could be an indirect reference to a growing convergence between New Delhi and Riyadh, that would be a source of concern to Tehran, which has traditionally enjoyed very close ties. But in the present international context, Iran and India are currently fighting over a gas field, while India’s signature projects are going slow in Iran.Thirdly, while the India-Israel relationship has been growing for a while, the forthcoming Modi visit to Israel is not unnoticed in Tehran.Khamenei’s statement, unfortunately, comes on the day Modi and Trump are scheduled to meet in Washington. Trump has openly come out against Iran, taking sides in the Middle East battle between Tehran and Riyadh.