Iran’s Arbaeen Message: Destroy Israel, Defy America
- Mickey Segall
- Aug 14
- 16 min read
"And O Hussein, our soul’s peace, you are what we seek. What we see in Iran and Gaza is but a fraction of your suffering. We, the oppressed and downtrodden of history, have answered your “Is there any helper?” We have armed ourselves with weapons and patience, in confrontation and battle with your renewed enemies, America, Israel, and the other devils. We are resolute and unshakable, and we ask you for command". (Kayhan August 14)
Executive Summary
Mohammad Hadi Sahraei's (*) article in Kayhan (August 14) marking the 2025 Arbaeen pilgrimage presents the event as both a central Shiite religious commemoration and a coordinated political mobilization in service of Iran’s ideological mission. It explicitly links the mass pilgrimage to resistance against Israel and the West, portraying the United States and Israel as the primary “obstacles to the appearance” of the awaited Mahdi. The removal of these obstacles is framed as both a sacred duty and a strategic necessity.
Set against the backdrop of the recent "Twelve-Day War" and the ongoing war in Gaza, the article depicts Iran and its proxies, primarily Hezballah, as the vanguard of a divine plan for global justice culminating in Israel’s destruction and the empowerment of the “oppressed of the earth.” The war is not treated as a moment of caution but as validation that direct confrontation with Israel is both inevitable and potentially victorious when rooted in faith and the culture of martyrdom. This year’s Arbaeen message intensifies calls for dismantling Israel entirely, portraying it as a cosmic prerequisite for the Mahdi’s return.
By merging sacred narrative, historical memory, and contemporary geopolitics, Iran reaffirms its long-standing posture: that the Resistance Front is engaged in a divinely mandated mission measured in the erosion and eventual eradication of the Zionist state. This theological determinism underpins Tehran’s foreign policy, domestic mobilization, and regional operations, ensuring that the momentum from the recent war will continue to feed its strategic agenda.
In this framework, Israel is the archenemy, its existence cast as both a military threat and a spiritual abomination. The United States and NATO are characterized as indispensable enablers of Israel’s survival, rendering Western influence in the Middle East part of a unified Zionist-Western front. Sunni Arab states normalizing ties with Israel are condemned as “hypocritical” or “Qarun-like” rulers betraying Islamic unity, reflecting Tehran’s rivalry with Gulf monarchies for leadership in the Muslim world.
The struggle is not confined to military battlefields. Hostile media outlets such as BBC Persian and Iran International are portrayed as tools of psychological warfare designed to erode belief in divine victory. In response, Iran frames the Resistance as requiring not only military might but also ideological resilience against narrative subversion.
Losses from the Twelve-Day War, crippling of Hezbollah’s military capacity, Assad’s downfall, and heavy blows to Hamas are reframed as temporary setbacks in a sacred mission. In Tehran’s eschatological narrative, such sacrifices are steps toward the ultimate eradication of Israel and the hastening of the Mahdi’s reappearance. The war becomes another foundational “Sacred Defense,” justifying Iran’s revolutionary ideology and reinforcing its belief in divine intervention across history.
Despite severe economic hardship and battlefield losses, the regime vows to persist in advancing the Mahdi’s cause through the lens of activist Shiism shaped by Khomeini’s doctrine. The Arbaeen pilgrimage serves as a potent stage for broadcasting this message of sacrifice, with millions of pilgrims marching under the scorching sun toward Karbala, where, in Tehran’s telling, the dust of martyrdom mingles with the dawn of redemption.
"A Different Arbaeen This Year"
On the occasion of Arbaeen, the newspaper Kayhan, the mouthpiece of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, published a special article marking this year’s Arbaeen pilgrimage (14 August 2025). The piece blends Shiite religious symbolism with political and strategic messaging, placing Israel, the United States, and their allies at the center of an eschatological struggle and portraying their removal as a prerequisite for the appearance of Imam al-Mahdi.
The article states that the current year, 1404 in the Iranian calendar, is unlike any in the last three thousand years since the birth of the Israelites. It asserts that the people of Israel have become the central cause and source of the world’s most significant disputes. Never before, it claims, has the “enemy behind the curtain” of Israel fought Iran directly. The “occupying Zionist regime,” described as “Zionist Jews” in the Qur’anic sense, is said to be accustomed to proxy warfare and unwilling to fight directly, except from behind walls and fortifications.
The piece cites Qur’an 59:14 - "Even united, they would not ˹dare˺ fight against you except ˹from˺ within fortified strongholds or from behind walls. Their malice for each other is intense: you think they are united, yet their hearts are divided. That is because they are a people with no ˹real˺ understanding" - to reinforce the claim that Israel's unity is false, their hearts are divided, and their courage is lacking. Zionism is presented as a satanic ideology embedded in various peoples across history, opposing divine guidance through rebellion against prophets and inciting the people against them. It identifies this “murderous, rebellious” mindset as having lodged itself in the Israelites, becoming the instrument for “dirty and evil work,” spreading sin, and corrupting nations. The article draws a historical line from biblical fratricide (Cain and Abel) to modern-day Israeli actions, culminating in the "12-Day War" against Iran.
The Arbaeen commemoration is presented as taking place in an environment where “Israel and America are more vicious than ever,” seeking to bring disaster to Muslim lands and the birthplace of the prophets. The article claims that the crimes of the “Zionist criminal gang” in Gaza have darkened the day for every free person, and that their attack on Iran, despite being met with a “crushing response”, has left Iranians still grieving their martyrs.
A crucial theme is that the “general demand of Arbaeen pilgrims from all countries” is the destruction of the “obstacles to the appearance” of the Mahdi, which the text explicitly identifies as the “Zionist devils” and their collaborators. The arrival of the Mahdi is tied to the fulfillment of the Qur’anic promise that the oppressed will inherit the earth and justice will be established after the eradication of tyranny.
The article identifies multiple “obstacles” to the awaited savior’s (Mahdi’s) appearance. These include:
"The Zionist regime" (Israel), described as a usurping, proxy-warfare power that historically avoids direct confrontation but orchestrates wars and unrest through others. It is labeled as the spearhead of a “satanic” ideology, originating in rebellious and fratricidal tendencies from the time of Cain, embedded within the Israelites, and now embodied in modern political Zionism.
The United States and NATO – depicted as the central enablers and protectors of Zionism, leading military and political campaigns against Muslim lands, and fueling the wars in Gaza and the recent 12-day war with Iran.
"Hypocritical leaders" in neighboring Muslim countries – regimes accused of betraying Islamic unity, collaborating with the U.S. and Israel, and resisting the mission of the Resistance Front. They are labeled as obstacles that delay the promised victory of the oppressed over the oppressors.
Wealthy “Qarun-like” rulers of the region – especially in the Gulf, portrayed as morally corrupt and politically subservient to Western powers, spending wealth to strengthen enemies of Islam instead of supporting the Resistance.
Media arms of the enemy – such as BBC Persian, Manoto, and Iran International, likened to the scoffers of Noah’s time, who ridicule divine plans and demoralize believers.
The Kayhan article transforms a religious pilgrimage into an ideological rallying point, merging Shiite eschatology with state-directed political warfare. It draws a direct connection between the survival of Israel and the delay in the appearance of the Mahdi, framing the confrontation with Israel and the West as both an earthly political obligation and a divine precondition for redemption.
The rhetoric reflects Tehran’s strategic use of Arbaeen as a transnational Shiite mobilization tool, paralleled by other state-promoted events such as Quds Day (Jerusalem Day), the annual commemoration of Ashura, and memorial ceremonies for key “martyrs” like Qasem Soleimani. These occasions are deliberately framed to resonate not only with Shiite audiences but also with segments of the Sunni Muslim world, positioning Iran as the vanguard of a unified Islamic resistance. Through a blend of religious symbolism, political messaging, and media amplification, these events seek to forge a broad coalition, transcending sectarian divides, under the banner of opposing Israel, resisting Western influence, and advancing the eschatological mission toward the Mahdi’s reappearance.
For Iran, Hezbollah, and aligned proxy militias, the march from Najaf to Karbala becomes a public demonstration of the “Axis of Resistance” as the vanguard of the final battle against Israel. The description of Israel as an “obstacle to the appearance” elevates its elimination from a national security goal to a religious imperative.
This framework also places the United States and NATO in the same category, portraying them as active participants in a global anti-Islamic front that must be defeated for the divine plan to proceed. The reference to “collaborators” expands the target set to include Arab leaders deemed complicit with Israel, underscoring Iran’s regional ambitions and its readiness to confront both external and internal foes.
Linking Past and Future
In the wake of the 12-Day War, Iranian leadership appears to have doubled down on its ideological foundations rather than moderated them. The war is framed as proof that direct confrontation with Israel is both inevitable and winnable when grounded in a faith and martyrdom culture. This year’s Arbaeen message intensifies calls for the complete dismantling of Israel, not merely as a political act but as a necessary cosmic step toward the awaited age of justice under the Mahdi.
The blending of sacred narrative, military memory, and contemporary geopolitics reinforces the regime’s long-standing position: that Iran, as the leader of the Resistance Front, is engaged in a divinely sanctioned mission whose success is measured in the weakening and eventual eradication of the Zionist state.
This integration of theological determinism and strategic policy ensures that the ideological momentum generated by the recent war will continue to shape Tehran’s domestic mobilization, regional subversive operations, and the export of the revolution in the years ahead.
By embedding contemporary political rivals into a radical religious framework, Iran’s leadership transforms political confrontation into an eschatological and divine duty. This fusion of theology, military policy, and influence operations creates a unified mission in which battlefield victories and regional dominance are steps toward fulfilling a divine promise- an awaited age of justice under the Mahdi. Israel is cast as the core enemy; its destruction is framed as both a military and spiritual obligation. The regime’s portrayal of Israel as an existential evil ensures that any peace or normalization process, by Iran or others, is ideologically impossible.
The United States and NATO are depicted not simply as geopolitical rivals but as indispensable enablers of Israel’s survival, making them legitimate targets of Iran’s hostility. In Tehran’s worldview, Western influence anywhere in the Middle East is part of a singular Zionist-Western front. Sunni Arab states that normalize relations with Israel are denounced as “hypocritical” or “Qarun-like” rulers, betraying the cause of Islamic unity and squandering their wealth in service to the enemies of God. This reflects both Iran’s hostility toward Gulf monarchies and its bid for leadership in the Muslim world.
The regime also identifies hostile media as a critical front in the struggle. Channels like BBC Persian and Iran International are portrayed as psychological warfare tools meant to weaken belief in the divine promise of victory. In response, Iran frames the Resistance as requiring not only military power but ideological resilience against narrative subversion.
The outcome of the Twelve-Day War with Israel and the United States is not seen in Tehran as a setback but as validation of its uncompromising posture. Even the crippling of Hezbollah’s capabilities, Assad’s downfall, and major blows to Hamas are recast as temporary obstacles within a divinely mandated mission. In this narrative, losses are part of a longer arc toward the eventual eradication of the Zionist state, which is directly linked to hastening the reappearance of the Mahdi. By binding sacred narrative, military struggle, and geopolitical ambition, the Iranian leadership ensures that the ideological momentum generated by the war will continue to drive domestic mobilization, proxy warfare, and regional policy for years to come.
The outcome of the Twelve-Day War with Israel and the United States is not seen in Tehran as a setback but as proof of its uncompromising posture. Even the crippling of Hezbollah’s capabilities, Assad’s downfall, and major blows to Hamas are recast as temporary obstacles within a divinely mandated mission.
In this historical narrative, losses are part of a longer arc toward the eventual eradication of the Zionist state, which is directly linked to hastening the reappearance of the Mahdi. By binding sacred narrative, military struggle, and geopolitical ambition, the Iranian leadership ensures that the ideological momentum generated by the war will continue to drive domestic mobilization, proxy warfare, and regional policy for years to come.
For Iran, the Twelve-Day “Sacred Defense” war becomes another pillar in justifying its ideology and belief in divine intervention throughout history. Despite the blows it suffered, in the spirit of Hussein’s sacrifice at Karbala, it will persist in working to bring forth the Mahdi and act in the spirit of activist Shiism shaped in Khomeini’s doctrine, regardless of the battlefield losses and its deep economic crisis.
The Arbaeen pilgrimage offers Tehran a potent stage to echo this message of sacrifice among the throngs of pilgrims moving under the scorching sun toward Karbala, to the resting place of Hussein, where the dust of martyrdom is believed to mingle with the dawn of redemption.
From a Western analytical standpoint, Iran’s conduct often appears contradictory or irrational, particularly when assessed through conventional geopolitical cost-benefit logic. Yet this view fails to account for the doctrinal driver at the heart of Tehran’s decision-making, a fusion of revolutionary Shiite theology and militant messianism that treats geopolitical objectives as inseparable from sacred obligations. This explains why the Islamic Republic persists in policies that incur heavy economic costs and risk military escalation, including its unwavering pursuit of nuclear capabilities, which it frames as a strategic shield for the Resistance Front and a tool to hasten the Mahdi’s reappearance. By continuing to interpret Iran’s moves through a Western realist lens, rather than through the prism of its theologically infused worldview, policymakers risk misunderstanding both its intentions and its threshold for compromise on core issues.
Annex - Full translation
A Different Arbaeen This Year(Contributed Article – Mohammad Hadi Sahraei)
"Or did you think that the companions of the cave and the inscription were among Our wondrous signs?" (Qur’an, al-Kahf 18:9)
When the Kaaba is the sanctuary of the worshipers, Karbala is the meeting place of the lovers. Otherwise, what magnet could so stir people’s hearts and, in the peak heat of mid-summer, draw millions of lovers from all over the world to Karbala? What excitement, what material prize or reward, could compel men and women, young and old, to walk tens of kilometers from Najaf to Karbala in 50-degree heat? People who get irritated when the electricity goes out for two hours, how do they bear such scorching heat? It is nothing but this: that at the end of times, Najaf to Karbala becomes the center of world events, and here the Noah’s Ark of the end of history will be built. It is not strange that believers and the oppressed, battered by the gales of tribulation and the surging storms of the end times, should so set themselves on this path and take refuge in Hussein, who is the fastest and widest ship of salvation.
Let the prisoners of the narrow material world and the heedless mock and reject. So what if they do? Were not the deniers, for hundreds of years, tormenting Noah and his followers with mockery and sarcasm for building the Ark? Do you think that the unbelievers of that time, bound to sensory perception, were more foolish than the BBC Persian, Manoto, Iran International, and their like today? Never. They too accepted only what could be sensed and could not comprehend what belonged to reason and the unseen, and so they mocked. Their reasoning, like their intellect and understanding, was small and stunted. When water gushed from the earth and poured from the sky, they sought refuge in the mountains, trying to climb to the heights. They thought that the God who could make the earth gush forth floods and pour waterfalls from the sky could not raise the waters above the mountains. They did not know that in that terrifying event: "This day there is no protector against the command of God, except for him on whom He has mercy" (Qur’an, Hud 11:43).
By God’s will, soon Najaf and Karbala will become the center of the world, and momentous, dazzling events will occur. God promises that the oppressed shall inherit the earth, and He will deliver the disbelievers to them for retribution. On that day, the execution of justice upon the oppressors will be harsher than today’s oppression upon the oppressed. This is God’s way: when oppression passes all bounds, when the sighs of the oppressed rise to the heavens, and when believers are worn out by hardship and trials, then the punishment of the oppressors is made ready. What is happening in the region today must be added to the harsh conditions of this year’s Arbaeen. The rabid dog of America in the region (refers to Israel, while using the Leader terminology), which spares neither the progeny nor the crops of Muslims, has set the world on edge and set Gaza aflame, seemingly the very conditions before the chastisement of the arrogant powers. God willing, so that it will be.
The Arbaeen walk from Najaf to Karbala has become global, and amid the din of the media apparatus of global arrogance, it has drawn the eyes of the free and the free media of the world. In summer Arbaeens, when the heat changes the color of skin, those who have made the walk know that nothing but love moves a person. It is as though each pilgrim takes refuge in Hussein, peace be upon him, and beneath his dome, which has no veil between it and the Throne, they beg God for the end of the oppressors and the deliverance of the oppressed, both of which will come with the appearance of the Avenger and Ever-Victorious Savior. When for a lifetime one could speak of the tresses of the Beloved, I swear by the God of Hussein that until the Day of Resurrection one can speak of him, listen to him, and take delight. And Hussein is the secret by which the believers of the end times become friends.
From earth to the Throne, there is no veil but under Hussein’s dome; there is where the voices of the earth’s people reach the ears of the heavenly ones beside his grave. He whose visitation is like visiting God upon His Throne is Hussein. He whose memory is the remembrance of God, the calm of the soul, and the repeated sweetness, is Hussein. He who heals pains and is the companion of loneliness is Hussein. He who is the first and last friend, whose good deeds weigh heavier with the drops of tears for him, is Hussein. He whose one drop of tear melts away a world of sins is Hussein. He at whose birth our mouths were touched with his clay, and at our death his clay is placed beneath our tongues, is Hussein. Kinder than father or mother is Hussein. And it is to him, by his right, that we must ask for the appearance of the Awaited Imam, may God’s greetings and blessings be upon him and the righteous, for the salvation of the world.
The year 1404 [2025] is different from all others, not only from the years since the victory of the Islamic Revolution, in which we have endured and managed various kinds of imposed wars, but from all the years since three thousand years ago, from the birth of the Israelites until today. From then on, the Israelites became the principal subject, center, and source of the world’s great disputes and wars. Never before has the enemy behind the curtain of Israel fought us face-to-face. The occupying regime of Jerusalem, known as Israel, consists of Zionist Jews, who, according to the Qur’an, are accustomed to proxy war and will not fight us directly. As the Qur’an says: "They will not fight you together, except within fortified towns or from behind walls. Their enmity among themselves is severe. You think they are united, but their hearts are divided, because they are a people without reason" (Qur’an, al-Hashr 59:14).
Zionism is a satanic ideology that, in every historical period, has taken root in some nation and managed Satan’s proxy war against human guidance. It began with fratricide by Cain, and in turn, stood against every prophet and messenger, inciting people against them. This same fratricidal and defiant mindset took root in the Israelites, finding in their character and disposition a suitable ground for rebellion. Thereafter, Zionism was tasked with filthy, vile deeds, spreading evil habits and sins one by one, until the time of the Seal of the Prophets, may God’s peace and the peace of the good be upon him, who said that no nation harmed our Prophet as the Jews did. From then until today, whatever we have seen and heard from the Zionized Jews has been conspiracy, espionage, murder, and intrigue, until our own time, when we have witnessed their unrestrained crimes, the latest being, after Gaza, the direct attack on Iran in the Twelve-Day War.
This year’s Arbaeen is held while the pilgrims, bravely and with the spirit of martyrdom, migrate to God, at a time when Israel and America, more savage than ever, have gone to extremes, dreaming evil dreams for the land of the prophets, the region of Muslims, and the source of end-time news. The crimes of the criminal gang of Zion, from America and NATO to Israel, to the foolish Qaruns (Korah in the Torah, symbolizing corrupt rulers who serve the enemies of God with their riches rather than aiding the oppressed) of the region and the hypocritical leaders of some neighboring countries, in Gaza have turned the hearts of every free person to blood and made broad daylight into dark night for the noble. Their attack on Iran, although met with a crushing response, still leaves our hearts grieving for our martyrs and loved ones; we have not yet been consoled. The desire of the Arbaeen pilgrims from all countries is the destruction of the obstructors of the Reappearance, the Zionist devils and their partners and allies. With their removal, the rule of the oppressed will be realized, and the world after the Reappearance will taste the pleasure of a life without hardship or distress, a world in which there is no oppression, the oppressed have inherited their due, and justice has been done for the wronged.
And O Hussein, our soul’s peace, you are what we seek. What we see in Iran and Gaza is but a fraction of your suffering. We, the oppressed and downtrodden of history, have answered your “Is there any helper?” We have armed ourselves with weapons and patience, in confrontation and combat with your renewed enemies, America, Israel, and the other devils. We are resolute and unshakable, and we ask you for command. These people, who in this soul-searing heat draw their bodies toward you not with their feet but with their hearts, are seeking you from you, and their cry is this: “O Solomon, come and lift the load from the ant’s shoulders; I bear a burden of grief that weighs heavily upon me.
(*) Mohammad Hadi Sahraei (محمدهادی صحرایی) is an Iranian writer and commentator closely associated with Kayhan, the flagship conservative newspaper aligned with Iran’s Supreme Leader. External sources such as Times of Israel and United Against Nuclear Iran identify him as the head of the Kermanshah Basij Media Organization, reflecting strong institutional links to Iran’s ideological and security apparatus. His published work is characterized by staunchly ideological, anti-Zionist, and often antisemitic narratives. Notably, in 2022, he authored a Kayhan front-page editorial titled “Maybe Without War”, which praised Hitler’s expulsion of Jews and portrayed Jews/Zionists as perpetual enemies, an example of his alignment with Iran’s hardline, theologically infused resistance discourse.
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