Iran’s supreme leader writes letter to US students, says they stand 'on right side of history'

TEHRAN, Iran

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has written an open letter to students in the US protesting against the Israeli war in Gaza, saying they stand "on the right side of history."

Published on his official website on Thursday, the letter addresses students whose “awakened conscience has moved them to defend the oppressed women and children of Gaza.”

University protests in the US against the war in Gaza, which started last month at Columbia University and later expanded to other campuses across the country, have garnered headlines worldwide.

Hundreds of students and professors have been suspended for participating in these protests at different US universities.

“This message is an expression of our empathy and solidarity with you. As the page of history is turning, you are standing on the right side of it,” read the letter, originally published in Persian.

The letter states that the protesting students in the US have formed a new branch of the “resistance front” in their support for the Palestinian people, who have been struggling for freedom for decades.

The main objective of this “struggle,” the letter elaborates, is to end the “blatant oppression” Israel has inflicted on Palestinians for many years.

The letter written by Iran’s supreme leader also refers to the history of the Palestine-Israel conflict, blaming Britain and the US for financially and militarily supporting Israel against Palestinians.

“The Zionist regime used an iron-fist policy against the defenseless people of Palestine from the very beginning and has ever since intensified its brutality, terror, and repression in complete disregard of all moral, human, and religious values,” the letter states.

According to the letter, the elites in the West who own major media corporations have labeled the Palestinian resistance as “terrorism” while defending Israel as “acting in self-defense.”

It, however, adds that the circumstances have changed and a “different fate” awaits the West Asian region amid the awakening in favor of Palestine across the world.

The letter describes the campus protests in the US as “a significant and consequential development,” indicating approval and support for the student movement in the West.

“I too am among those who empathize with you, the young people, and value your perseverance,” the letter quoted Khamenei as saying to the American protesters.

Thursday’s letter comes more than nine years after Khamenei addressed the youth in Europe and North America, which marked the first time a top Iranian official directly addressed youth in the West.