In a Friday, February 26, 2021 sermon in San'a, Yemen, Houthi Islamic scholar Ibrahim Al-Ubeidi responded to a MEMRI TV clip of a sermon in 2019 by Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's representative in Iran's Khorasan Razavi province. In that sermon, the ayatollah claimed that Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), Hizbullah, Ansar Allah (the Houthis), Hamas, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad "are all Iran."
Stating that he had viewed the MEMRI TV clip on YouTube, Al-Ubeidi said that Iran's support of these groups should not be considered expansionism, but rather Iran's protection of itself against a Jewish-Christian plot. Were it not for Iran, he stressed, a "Judeo-Christian expansion plan would have been implemented." He added that the Western colonialists want the Muslim countries to be separated by borders, while "the Jews will unite with the Christians and establish a superpower" to weaken, kill, and attack each Muslim country separately. This, he reiterated, does not in any way mean that Iran is implementing an expansionist agenda, as Yemen is completely independent and sovereign and Iran acknowledges Yemen's sovereignty as well. (For more about Ibrahim Al-Ubeidi, see MEMRI TV clips 8630, 8218, 7978, 7929, and 7896.)
The following is the MEMRI TV clip of Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda's September 20, 2019 sermon in Mashhad, which aired on Iran's Khorasan Razavi TV, followed by the February 2021 response to it by Houthi Islamic scholar Al-Ubeidi, which aired on the Houthi Yemen Al-Eman TV.
Ayatollah Alamolhoda: "Today's Iran Is Not Just Iran... The PMU In Iraq Is Iran; Hizbullah In Lebanon Is Iran; Ansar Allah In Yemen Is Iran; The National Front In Syria Is Iran; The Islamic Jihad And Hamas In Palestine Are Iran... Iran Is No Longer Just Us", September 20, 2019
To view the clip of Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda on MEMRI TV, click here or below.
Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda: "Today's Iran is not just Iran. It is not limited by geographical borders. Today, the PMU in Iraq is Iran. Hizbullah in Lebanon is Iran.
"Ansar Allah in Yemen is Iran. The national front in Syria is Iran.
"The Islamic Jihad and Hamas in Palestine are Iran. They have all become Iran. Iran is no longer just us.
"The sayyed of the Resistance [Nasrallah] has announced that the resistance in the region has one imam and that this imam is the honorable leader of Iran's Islamic Revolution.
[...]
"Today, Iran is the resistance in the region. This means that if you trespass our border, Israel will turn into dust in half a day."
Audience: "Allah Akbar! Allah Akbar! Allah Akbar! Khamenei is the leader! Death to those who oppose the Rule of the Jurisprudent! Salutations upon the warriors of Islam! Peace by upon the martyrs! Death to America! Death to England! Death to the hypocrites and the infidels! Death to Israel!"
Alamolhoda: "Do you even understand where Iran is? Do you look to see where it is? Isn't south Lebanon Iran? Isn't Hizbullah Iran? The Yemeni-sent drones that caused such damage to Saudi Arabia – wasn't Iran there? You say that [the drones] came from the north and not from the south. South or north – what difference does it make? Iran is both to your south and to your north."
Houthi Scholar Ibrahim Al-Ubeidi: "I Saw Last Week A [MEMRI] Video Excerpt On YouTube, Which Has Been Posted On Social Media Websites... This Preacher Said These Things Because He Saw That There Was Resistance To The Plan To Enslave The Great Islamic Republic Of Iran, To Besiege It, And To Launch Multiple Wars Against It", February 26, 2021
To view the clip of Houthi Scholar Ibrahim Al-Ubeidi on MEMRI TV, click here or below.
Ibrahim Al-Ubeidi: "Were it not for the great revival brought about by Imam Khomeini with the advent of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Palestine would not be there today, the resistance factions in Palestine would have been eliminated, Hizbullah would have been wiped out in southern Lebanon, and the great Judeo-Christian expansion plan would have been implemented. This is what global Zionism wanted, which is why it has been distorting the image of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
"I saw last week a [MEMRI] video excerpt on YouTube, which has been posted on social media websites, and Israeli channels have been airing it repeatedly.
"It shows the turbaned [imam of Khorasan Razavi Province Ayatollah Alamolhoda] who is an Iranian cleric and scholar, saying during a sermon at the mosque:
'Hizbullah in Lebanon is Iran, Ansar Allah in Yemen is Iran, the Popular Mobilization Units in Iraq are Iran.'
"When we hear such a thing, many Yemenis and other people say: 'You see? The Iranians have begun to talk about their expansion and say that they are present in Yemen, in Lebanon, and in other places.' This preacher said these things because he saw that there was resistance to the plan to enslave the great Islamic Republic of Iran, to besiege it, and to launch multiple wars against it.
"We Must Remove All The Obstacles And The Borders Imposed By The Colonialists Between The Muslims, In Order To Weaken Each [Muslim] Country, So That It Can Attack, Vanquish, And Enslave Each Country On Its Own"
"The truth is that we in Yemen do not have the right to claim that we are [an integral part] of revolutionary Iran, and by the same token, the Islamic Revolution in Iran does not have the right to claim that it [controls] Yemen, or anything like that. We need to understand that we have the right to implement the sovereignty and independence of our country. This right is guaranteed by the Quran and by Yemeni law and constitution, as well as by customs and norms. They also know this full well at the Islamic Republic. However, we must remove all the obstacles and the borders imposed by the colonialists between the Muslims, in order to weaken each [Muslim] country, so that it can attack, vanquish, and enslave each country on its own.
"Some People Sent Me This [MEMRI TV] Video, And Asked Me If I Had Anything To Say... We Must Understand That We Are One Islamic Nation... The Jews Will Unite With The Christians And Establish A Superpower, Which Will Weaken Us, Kill Us, And Attack Each One Of Us Separately"
"So I don't see any [problem]. Some people sent me this video, and asked me if I had anything to say about the video in which an Iranian cleric says that Ansar Allah are Iran, and that Ansar Allah in Yemen are Iran. We must understand that we are one Islamic nation. The late Imam Khomeini said" 'It is neither East nor West. It is Islamic.' This is a great motto.
"They want to fragmentize us. They want us to be separated from one another by borders, by cultures, and by sectarian ideologies.
"At the same time, the Jews will unite with the Christians and establish a superpower, which will weaken us, kill us, and attack each one of us separately. All the while, we will be defending ourselves: 'We have nothing to do with Iran, and Iran has nothing to do with us' and so on and so forth. No. This is a mistake."
