New Delhi: As the Iran-Israel conflict escalates with devastating US-Israel joint strikes — including the reported death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — a striking question looms over the Middle East: Why have most Muslim nations remained conspicuously silent, offering little to no support for Tehran?
Despite Iran positioning itself as a champion of Muslim causes through its backing of groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis, 16 Muslim-majority countries in the region — from Saudi Arabia and the UAE to Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Bahrain, and others — have largely refrained from military aid or vocal solidarity. Instead, many have maintained distance, with some even indirectly facilitating Israeli operations by opening airspace.
The primary reason, experts point out, lies in the deep-rooted Shia-Sunni divide. Iran, a Shia-majority nation, claims leadership over Shia communities worldwide, while the overwhelming majority of global Muslims (85-90%) are Sunni. Sunni powers like Saudi Arabia, guardian of Islam’s holiest sites, view Iran’s revolutionary ambitions and proxy interventions in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and beyond as existential threats. This sectarian rivalry, dating back centuries but intensified since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, has fractured Muslim unity.
Iran’s support for militant groups accused of destabilising the region has further alienated neighbours, who blame Tehran for fuelling proxy wars and internal strife. Countries like the UAE and Jordan have refused assistance, while the Muslim World League condemned Iran’s retaliatory strikes on US bases in Arab nations as threats to regional stability.
Even voices of condemnation — from Pakistan acknowledging Iran’s right to retaliate to Turkey urging de-escalation — stop short of active backing. The result: Iran stands increasingly isolated amid the turmoil.
As geopolitical fault lines widen, the silence underscores that shared faith does not always translate into unified action in a deeply divided Muslim world.