Dec 2, 2015

“The bitter events brought about by blind terrorism in France have once again moved me to speak to you young people,” wrote Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in his second letter addressed to the “youth of the Western countries.” Khamenei’s accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms posted excerpts of the Nov. 29 letter with the hashtag #CommonWorry along with posters and banners in what appears to be a major campaign by his media team. Khamenei published his first such letter on his website in January.

“Today, the people of the East and the West are sharing common worries,” a source close to the supreme leader’s office in Tehran told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. “This is a new way of communicating with the other side, to break all artificial boundaries and the deadlock caused by those who don’t want this world to live together in peace and with respect.”

The idea for the letter, according to the same source, came about after the string of attacks that hit several places around the world within a brief span of time. “The attack on the Russian plane, then the bombing in Beirut and later the parallel attacks in Paris were a clear indication that the whole world, despite differences, is facing a serious threat, and there is by all means a common pain and common concern,” the source emphasized, adding, “This feeling of solidarity with all victims of terror, whoever and wherever they are, prompted the leader to take the time to write the letter.”

The 2,000-word piece gave Khamenei’s thoughts, in his own words, on the reasons for the wave of terror hitting the world. Of note, while showing his equanimity toward the youth of the West, he did not drop his accusation that the major Western powers are partially or fully responsible for the current situation. “The military invasions of the Islamic world in recent years — with countless victims — are another example of the contradictory logic of the West,” he argued, explaining, “The pain that the Islamic world has suffered in these years from the hypocrisy and duplicity of the invaders is not less than the pain from the material damage.”

When asked why Khamenei’s media team did not publish the letter as an article in any of the well-known Western newspapers or media outlets, the source told Al-Monitor, “The leader is keen to have direct engagement with youth; he wants the young man or lady in Boston, Manchester or Berlin to feel that he’s talking to him or her directly, despite the fact that he knows how ugly the stereotype is that’s being spread there about Iran.” The source added, “He wanted to set a better environment for dialogue, so that young generations of the West and the East can make use of it rather than fight.”