Yemenis, Kashmiris Deserve Explicit Support: Ayatollah

TEHRAN: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei Monday equated the on-going Kashmir conflict with that of Yemen and Bahrain saying that the Muslim world must express their disdain against 'oppressors' who have attacked people in such horrible ways even during the holy month of Ramadan.

Ayatollah Khamenei made these reamrks during Eid ul-Fitr sermon at Tehran's Great Musalla, where Iranian President, Muslim ambassadors and top military commanders were also present.

"Conflicts in Yemen, Bahrain, problems in all Islamic countries, are major wounds on the body of Islam. The World of Islam should explicitly support the people of Yemen, and express their disdain against the oppressors who've attacked the people in such horrible ways during the month of Ramadan... The same is true for the people of Bahrain and Kashmir," the website associated with the office of the supreme leader, khamenei.ir, reported.

Advising Muslim nations to take a clear stance on issues in the Muslim world, Ayatollah Khamenei reportedly said it was important to do so even if it resulted in dissatisfaction of 'arrogant individuals'.

"Just as we explicitly express our position against enemies and adversaries, the world of Islam -- especially the elites in it -- should follow this path and take a position towards seeking to please God, absolutely, even if it leads to dissatisfaction of the arrogant front", he said.

The issue of Kashmir is an issue of humanity: Ayatollah Khamenei

This isn't the first time Iran's leader has spoken about the Kashmir issue. In May 1990, he stated on his website: "Look how everywhere in the world where there is a Muslim community, they receive a much harsher treatment compared with others. Kashmir is a contemporary example for this. Muslims there speak out their rights. Anyone who is informed of what Kashmir has gone through, knows what Muslims of Kashmir express is nothing but truth and justice. Those who silence them have an unjust cause. Those who attack them are the ones who are doing the wrong action. Sadly the world watches all this in cold blood."

Last year, Khamenei mentioned Kashmir in a conversation with the visiting Slovenian president, Borut Pahor, in the context of showing the West's interest in keeping 'wounds' open: "On the basis of the first viewpoint, the Americans do not have a plan for uprooting Daesh. Like the English who have kept the wound of Kashmir open since the era of colonialism in the Indian subcontinent and which has resulted in two neighbouring countries, India and Pakistan, to have discord on this matter until the present time, the Americans too want to act on the issue of Daesh in a way that this problem continues to exist in Iraq without ever being resolved," he said on Nov 22, 2016.

The last time Kashmir was explicitly brought up by Iranian leaders  was in 2010, when not just the Iranian supreme leader, but also the country's foreign ministry had raised questions about Kashmir.

In July and November of 2010, Ayatollah Khamenei raised the need for the Muslim community to support the "struggle" in Kashmir - and put it in the same category as Gaza and Afghanistan.

"Helping the Palestinian nation and the besieged people of Gaza, sympathy toward and cooperation with the people of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Kashmir, selfless efforts and resistance against the aggression of America and the Zionist regime, safeguarding the unity of Muslims, fighting evil hands and mercenary tongues that undermine this unity, and spreading awakening and [a] sense of commitment and responsibility among Muslim youth in all Islamic lands - these are great responsibilities that currently lie on the shoulders of prominent figures of the Islamic Ummah," said Khamenei in his Eid-ul-Zuha message of November 2010.

Besides the Supreme Leader, Iran's foreign ministry had on September 18, 2010 criticised the Indian government for firing on a protest by Kashmiris on the alleged burning of a copy of the Quran in the United States.