TEHRAN – Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf called on Muslim nations to cast off reliance on the United States and forge a new regional security order rooted in Islamic solidarity, warning that American military presences in the region serve only to enable Israeli aggression and division.

In a Friday message marking Eid al-Fitr, Qalibaf congratulated Muslims on the end of Ramadan and warned that any division among Islamic nations directly benefits “our common enemies.” He said the current moment is a turning point, urging Arab leaders to abandon trust in Washington, which he noted has been the primary backer of Israel’s military campaigns in Gaza, Lebanon, and now Iran.

“From today, we must strive to build a new security order in this region based on fraternity among us, not on trust in the enemies of Islam or obedience to their dictates,” Qalibaf said.

Less than nine months after requesting a ceasefire in June, the United States and Israel launched a second war against Iran on February 28. In response, Iran has been retaliating with missile and drone strikes against Israel, as well as against U.S. bases in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, and Iraq. While the seven countries have condemned Iran for the attacks, under the UN Charter, Iran’s targeting of regional U.S. bases is considered legitimate self-defense.

The Iranian strikes have sparked debate over the benefits of hosting U.S. bases. Western reports indicate that Arab Persian Gulf states have been frustrated with the United States for “leaving them behind” and instead focusing on protecting Israel. Critics argue that, rather than bringing security to regional countries, American military bases have put these nations at risk and caused them significant economic harm.

In his message, Qalibaf stated that Washington’s promises of protection are a facade, bringing only “war and insecurity.” He added, “You know that anyone clothed by America is in fact naked,” emphasizing that the United States does not abide by agreements or commitments. Qalibaf also posed a religious question, asking, “Is it acceptable that the land of a Muslim country hosts this coalition?”

The parliament speaker warned that unless host nations prevent the United States from using their territories to launch attacks on Iran, Tehran views retaliation against American interests and bases in those countries as “inevitable.” At the same time, he stressed that no such strikes would occur if those nations halted U.S. operations from their soil.

“If Muslim countries, through brotherhood and cooperation, take control of the region’s destiny without foreign interference, lasting security will be established for all Muslim nations,” Qalibaf said. He called for bilateral and multilateral security and economic agreements to replace what he described as foreign domination.

Qalibaf also pointed out that the Americans and Israelis do not view any group of people in the region as different, and that their aim is to do to all regional countries what they have done to Gaza. He said the U.S.-Israeli coalition views all Muslims—Shia and Sunni alike—through a dehumanizing lens, regarding them as “Amalekites” to be “exterminated and wiped from the earth.”

“Today is the time for action. Today is the time for brotherhood,” he said.

Qalibaf’s warnings about Muslims being in the same boat have in fact been echoed by several well-known analysts and experts since the Gaza war began in 2023. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several of his cabinet members have openly said that they back the “Greater Israel” project, a Zionist vision of the ultimate Jewish state that includes the territories of almost all Arab lands as well as Turkey.