Iranian Leader Calls Pro-Palestinian Students in US ‘Resistance Front’
Iran InternationalMay 30
Iran Supreme Leader Thanks Campus Protesters
Image copyright: Majid Saeedi/Stringer/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed support for the Pro-Palestinian protests happening on US college campuses, telling protestors they are "on the right side of history."
In his letter posted to X on Thursday, Khamenei told American college students they "have now formed a branch of the Resistance Front and have begun an honorable struggle in the face of your government's ruthless pressure — a government which openly supports the usurper and brutal Zionist regime."
The Spin
Conservative narrative
This makes it abundantly clear that violent, disruptive, pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses are dangerous and anti-American. Khamenei is desperate to spread his influence in the West and likely sees these protests as an opportunity to turn these radical liberal protestors into another Iranian proxy group. This should be seen as a wake-up call, not a compliment.
Progressive narrative
The questionable moral standing of the source doesn't make Khamenei's claims any less truthful. Israel is arguably carrying out a genocide in Gaza, and the US and other Western countries have been complicit in the brutal murders of tens of thousands of civilians. The focus should be on the horrible results of US policies and the suffering of Palestinians rather than this letter.
