KARBALA, Iraq — Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, director of Iran’s Islamic seminaries, has called on Muslim governments, scholars and media institutions to strengthen their support for Palestine and confront regional efforts aimed at normalising relations with the Israeli regime.
Addressing the opening session of an international conference in the holy city of Karbala on Saturday, the senior Iranian cleric condemned regional states that have aligned themselves with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying their policies ultimately serve the interests of occupation and foreign domination.
“Tehran will continue backing the Palestinian cause in order to confront hostile projects targeting the region,” Ayatollah Arafi told delegates.
The conference brought together religious scholars, political figures, intellectuals and media professionals from across the Arab and Islamic world to examine the role of media and narrative-building in supporting Palestine. Organisers said the gathering drew inspiration from the uprising of Imam Hussein (a), whose stand at Karbala remains an enduring symbol of resistance to tyranny and injustice.
Ayatollah Arafi urged the United Nations to formally recognise the Palestinian people’s right to resist occupation and called for international recognition of the Axis of Resistance. He also reaffirmed support for a general referendum involving the indigenous people of Palestine to determine the future of the land.
The senior cleric rejected the so-called “Deal of the Century”, describing it as part of a wider project aimed at eliminating the Palestinian cause and consolidating Israeli control. He called for the plan to be defeated through political, economic, cultural and popular resistance.
Ayatollah Arafi also demanded the complete severance of economic, commercial and cultural ties with the Zionist regime. He urged Muslim countries to close Israeli embassies, boycott Israeli products and prioritise financial and political support for resistance movements in Palestine and Lebanon.
Hassan Rashid Jawad al-Abayiji, custodian of the Imam Hussein Holy Shrine, said the conference was rooted in Imam Hussein’s (a) principles of reform, justice and opposition to tyranny.
He described Palestine as a continuation of the eternal struggle represented by Karbala, in which the oppressed confront forces of domination despite unequal conditions.
Abdul Latif al-Haj, general coordinator of the Global Campaign for Return to Palestine, said the suffering of Gaza’s men, women and children had reverberated across the world, inspiring demonstrations in streets, university campuses and public squares.
He said the global mobilisation reflected growing opposition to the genocide in Gaza and renewed demands for the liberation of Palestinian land and people.
Sayyed Abdul Qadir al-Hassani al-Alousi, head of the Rabat Mohammadi Scholars Council, warned that normalisation with “an aggressive, occupying enemy” constituted a grave betrayal of Palestine.
He said Al-Aqsa Mosque remained at the centre of the historic struggle between truth and falsehood and urged scholars to resist attempts to weaken the Islamic and moral dimensions of the Palestinian cause.
Former Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour said peace would remain impossible in West Asia so long as Israeli occupation continued.
He called for coordinated efforts among politicians, scholars, intellectuals, journalists and activists to confront disinformation campaigns promoted by pro-Israel lobby groups and Western institutions.
Representing Iraq’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Mahdi al-Sumaidaie, Sheikh Amer al-Bayati reaffirmed the rejection of normalisation and declared that no part of Palestinian land could be abandoned.
He expressed confidence that the liberation of Al-Quds was drawing nearer and said the Palestinian cause would remain central to the conscience of the Muslim world.
The conference underscored the growing role of religious scholars and independent media in challenging Israeli narratives and preserving Palestine as a central Islamic, Arab and humanitarian cause.
