Khamenei Urges ‘National Unity,’ Warns of ‘Rifts’

A picture published by Khamenei's website from his annual speech to army leaders in Tehran, Iran
A picture published by Khamenei's website from his annual speech to army leaders in Tehran, Iran
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Khamenei Urges ‘National Unity,’ Warns of ‘Rifts’

A picture published by Khamenei's website from his annual speech to army leaders in Tehran, Iran
A picture published by Khamenei's website from his annual speech to army leaders in Tehran, Iran

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called for national unity, accusing “enemies” of seeking to sow discord among Iranian officials. At the same time, Khamenei criticized those trying to raise women’s issues and generational differences.

In an annual address to Iran Air Force commanders, Khamenei claimed that the main target of enemies was to bring Iran to its knees and to destroy it by stoking rifts and suspicion.

Khamenei described “national unity” as an essential requirement for the present time.

Likening national unity to a dam and robust wall standing against the enemy, Khamenei said this unity has played a significant role in the victory of the 1979 revolution and its progress in past years.

“Today, we need to increase this (national) unity as much as possible,” said Khamenei.

“There is nothing wrong with political disagreements, differences in viewpoints, and natural disagreements, but they must not end in slander,” added the Iranian leader.

Khamenei accused the US of trying to bring his nation to its knees despite a letter he received from former US President Barack Obama.

“Of course, they (enemies) say the opposite, as the president of the US wrote to me about 15 years ago, saying explicitly that ‘we do not intend to change your government.’ But we had reports at the same time that they were planning in their centers to destroy the Islamic Republic.”

Khamenei linked attempts to eliminate the Iranian regime to its regional role and said that his country has managed to take a strategic and important region out of the grasp of the “enemies.”

The leader’s speech comes days after the Iranian judiciary announced he had approved amnesty for tens of thousands of prisoners, including some detainees from recent anti-regime protests.

Demonstrations have been rocking Iran in the wake of the death of a young Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, last September. Amini died in the custody of Iran's notorious morality police that took her in for violating Iran’s strict dress code.



Multiple Quakes Leave Casualties in Guatemala, Cause Landslides

Debris lays on the street after dozens of earthquakes and aftershocks were recorded in a matter of hours in Palin, Guatemala, early Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Debris lays on the street after dozens of earthquakes and aftershocks were recorded in a matter of hours in Palin, Guatemala, early Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
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Multiple Quakes Leave Casualties in Guatemala, Cause Landslides

Debris lays on the street after dozens of earthquakes and aftershocks were recorded in a matter of hours in Palin, Guatemala, early Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Debris lays on the street after dozens of earthquakes and aftershocks were recorded in a matter of hours in Palin, Guatemala, early Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

A series of dozens of earthquakes were recorded in the span of hours in Guatemala, leaving two dead when rocks fell on their vehicle, authorities said. Landslides left several others buried.

More than 37 earthquakes and aftershocks with magnitudes ranging from 3.0 to 5.6 were reported in Guatemala Tuesday afternoon, said Edwin Rodas, director of the National Institute for Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology.

The tremors resulted in the evacuation of buildings, landslides, and minor property damage, officials said, adding they were felt as far away as El Salvador.
The two men killed were traveling in a pickup truck on a local road in the department of Escuintla when the rocks fell from a hillside onto the vehicle, firefighters said, according to The Associated Press.

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo said at a press conference Tuesday that the main epicenter of the quakes was in the department of Sacatepéquez, with aftershocks in the regions of Escuintla and Guatemala department.

At least five people were buried by landslides, but emergency responders were able to rescue two, he added.

The National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction declared an orange alert, the second-highest on the emergency scale.

The US Geological Survey reported a 4.8 magnitude earthquake at 3:11 p.m. local time, 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) southwest of the town of Amatitlán, south of Guatemala City, with a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles). It then reported another 5.7 magnitude quake 3 kilometers (2 miles) northwest of San Vicente Pacaya, a municipality in Escuintla, in the south-central region of the country.

Another 4.8 magnitude quake was reported 6 kilometers (4 miles) northwest of Palín, also in Escuintla.