Khamenei Calls On Top Brass To Be Vigilant Against Enemies

Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei held a meeting with the country’s top military brass Sunday, reiterating his conspiratorial views about the “enemies” of Iran.

The Supreme Leader’s remarks were contradictory, as he told senior military commanders and officials that the “enemies are vincible” yet blamed such enemies for the main problems of the country.

"The enemies can be defeated with all their seemingly solid calculations and military might,” he said, without elaborating on his claims.

Despite widespread unrest -- ignited by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini -- as well as the country’s grave economic and social crises, Khamenei voiced his satisfaction with what he called as years of continuous progress by the Iranian Armed Forces.

With an economy in crisis, a restive population and little to show after 34 years of presiding over an ever-unpopular regime, the military is the only institution he can praise, because they have made some advances in developing weapons.

Khamenei maintained that the armed forces should not focus their efforts on the actions of “weak elements” but should be prepared and vigilant against the behind-the-scene plotters. “Arrogant powers wage a conflict from behind the scenes wherever it benefits them,” using the Islamic Republic’s jargon for the US and Western powers.

Paying no heed to the fast-paced dynamics of political change in the countries that Khamenei calls enemies of the Islamic Republic, he said, “Paying close attention to the enemy's five- or ten-year schemes is necessary, but mid- and long-term plots should be considered and monitored.”

This statement, more than anything else, revealed Khamenei’s fascination with conspiracy theories, imagining that the United States and European powers have long-term plans for decades to come.

Another conspiracy theory put forth by the octogenarian autocrat was why the US military’s involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, describing them as “the two wars America started in the east and west of Iran about two decades ago.” He claimed, “Americans had interests in Iraq and Afghanistan, but their ultimate goal was the Islamic Iran, and due to the solid foundations of the Islamic Revolution, they failed in their adventures as well as their ultimate goal.”

While Khamenei called the United States feeble, he also said it was imperative not to underestimate the enemy. “At no stage should one ignore the enemy's machinations and plots.”

Since the beginning of the 'Women, Life, Liberty’ movement in Iran last September -- the boldest challenge the regime has ever faced – Khamenei has been blaming other countries for the popular uprising.

His strange denial of the nationwide revolt against the regime and his unfounded accusations are manifestations of his usual tactic of blaming others and refusing to take responsibility.

While more than 500 people have been killed by the regime's security forces since the start of the uprising, he has failed to utter a single sympathetic word about the victims.

In February, Khamenei for the first time admitted that there are disagreements between the people and the regime, nonetheless, his state of denial about dissent appears to continue as he repeated that sowing discord and creating differences is the "enemy's strategy."

Months of protests in the streets against the government have left a fragmented society in Iran where trust in the regime is at its lowest point.