MADRID – Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, led the Friday prayer for the first time in four years, an event regarded by many analysts as one of his most anticipated interventions. The last time Ayatollah Khamenei presided over this ceremony was in 2020, following the assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.

The Friday prayer holds paramount importance, as it provides meaning to the political and social life of the community and serves as a powerful discursive tool. Historically, one of the first actions of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) after his migration was the construction of mosques and their integration into all affairs of the new Islamic government. These spaces were not only designated for prayer but also served to articulate a political discourse in defense of the nascent Islamic state. In this context, the Friday prayers played a crucial role.

The Friday prayer is a weekly act celebrated in the community, emphasizing that being Muslim is not an individual experience, as some liberals have erroneously claimed. Being Muslim involves a connection to the Ummah. Additionally, this ceremony symbolizes the community's support for a governance that constantly seeks a horizon of justice. It is, therefore, a political moment in which the boundaries of Islamic discourse are constantly reconstituted. In other words, by addressing political issues, the Friday prayer repositions Islam at the center of communal life without exhausting its boundaries.

Within the framework of Wilayat al-Faqih (Leadership of the Islamic Jurist), the Friday prayer (Salat al-Jumu'ah) acquires special significance. An analysis of the writings and statements of the leaders of the Islamic Revolution reveals the magnitude of this ritual in both its spiritual and political dimensions. Imam Khomeini, regarding these dimensions, stated: “These gatherings that exist in Islam, such as Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, sacrifice, pilgrimage (Hajj), the Friday prayer, and the congregations held at night and day, have both devotional and political and social aspects.” He also emphasized that “the Friday prayer is a political gathering.”

For his part, Ayatollah Khamenei has underscored the significance of the Friday prayer for the spiritual and political life of the Muslim community. It is due to this political-theological importance that the Leader decided to lead the Friday prayer after four years. In a context of escalating regional tensions, fueled by Israel's violent escalation and, in particular, following the assassination of Hezbollah's Secretary General, Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, Ayatollah Khamenei began his speech by urging the Muslim community to "unite in solidarity."

Call for unity of the Islamic Ummah

From a political perspective, the recent call for unity of the Ummah by Ayatollah Khamenei reflects the recognition of a particular grammar that binds the entire Islamic community within the discursive limits established by Islam. This unity does not imply homogenization; rather, it guarantees the possibility of agreements and disagreements, all framed within a shared horizon.

Ayatollah Khamenei also addressed the political division in the world, characterizing it in terms of oppressors and the oppressed. He emphasized that the latter “maintain a divide-and-conquer policy,” whose ultimate aim is to create fragmentation within the Islamic community. Their strategy is based on sowing discord, executed in various Islamic countries through different methods that still persist. This has caused the hearts of Muslim nations to drift apart. However, Ayatollah Khamenei asserted that today the people have awakened and that this is the moment when the Islamic Ummah can overcome the deceptions of the enemies of Islam and Muslims.

“The enemy of the Iranian people is the same one that harasses the Palestinian, Lebanese, Iraqi, Egyptian, Syrian, and Yemeni peoples; essentially, there is only one enemy. Although their methods vary in each country—sometimes resorting to psychological warfare, applying economic pressure, using two-ton bombs, deploying weaponry, or presenting themselves with smiles—all these tactics are part of a common strategy,” Ayatollah Khamenei stated.

In this analysis, the Leader highlighted the friend-enemy dichotomy, which serves as the foundation upon which political communities are established. From an Islamic perspective, this division can be interpreted as follows: on one side are the countries that support the oppression and lack of justice represented by Israel's actions; on the other side are those countries and non-state actors that oppose this oppression, forming part of the group of "friends."

Ayatollah Khamenei articulated this Islamic solidarity by stating that “we must establish a defensive belt, a belt of self-determination, a belt of dignity that extends from Afghanistan to Yemen, from Iran to Gaza and Lebanon, consolidating unity across all Muslim countries and nations.”

This “defensive belt” is part of a discourse that seeks to maintain the independence of Islam as a political model, in the face of an enemy characterized by the absolute absence of justice. The Axis of Resistance is another name that can be attributed to this “defensive belt,” which should not be analyzed solely from a military perspective. Rather, it is a discourse that unites objectives, allowing for different paths to achieve them.

The right to self-defense and resistance in the discourse of Iran’s Leader

Another central point in the discourse of the Leader was the issue of the right to self-defense. Ayatollah Khamenei asserted that “both the defensive norms of Islam and international law unequivocally affirm that every nation has the right to defend its territory, home, and interests against an aggressor. This means that the Palestinian people have the right to resist the enemy that has occupied their land, invaded their homes, destroyed their fields, and ruined their lives. This is a sound logic that is also supported by international law today.”

It is noteworthy that, during his speech at the Imam Khomeini Mosque in Tehran, Ayatollah Khamenei addressed multiple audiences with a single message. On one hand, the primary audience was the Islamic Ummah; on the other, he sought to send a message to the “West,” emphasizing the legality of all resistance actions against the Israeli occupation and its repeated provocations. Additionally, he specifically addressed Palestine and Lebanon as concrete representatives of the Islamic Resistance in these current moments.

Regarding Palestine, Ayatollah Khamenei affirmed that “the Palestinian people have the right to resist,” adding that no entity or international organization has the right to reproach the Palestinian people for confronting the usurping Zionist regime. “No one, under any international law, has the right to criticize the Lebanese people or Hezbollah for supporting Gaza and the resistance of the Palestinian people; it is their duty to do so. This is both an Islamic mandate and a rational principle, as well as an international and global logic,” the Iranian Revolutionary Leader emphasized.

Finally, regarding Operation “True Promise II,” which represented the Islamic Republic’s response to the assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hassan Nasrallah, and IRGC General Seyyed Abbas Nilforoushan, Ayatollah Khamenei highlighted that “the brilliant actions of our armed forces in recent days were completely legal and legitimate.” Furthermore, he noted that the Iranian response was the “mildest for the Zionist regime,” which can be interpreted as a direct warning to Israel that if it decides to respond militarily, Iran will escalate its response.