Muslim nations urged to unite against US

ANKARA: Iran’s supreme leader called on Muslim nations to unite against the United States, saying Tehran would never yield to "bullying", state television reported on Thursday.

"The Iranian nation has successfully resisted bullying attempts by America and other arrogant powers and we will continue to resist... All Muslim nations should stand united against America and other enemies," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said.

Iran’s top authority criticised Trump for saying on Tuesday some countries in the Middle East "wouldn’t last a week" without US protection. "Such remarks are humiliation for Muslims ... Unfortunately there is war in our region between Muslim countries.

The backward governments of some Muslim countries are fighting with other countries," Khamenei said. Iran and Saudi Arabia have long been locked in a proxy war, competing for regional supremacy from Iraq to Syria and Lebanon to Yemen.

Meanwhile, Israel’s envoy to the United Nations said on Thursday that Iran had recruited at least 80,000 fighters which it was training at a base just over five miles from Damascus. Holding up a map, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon told the Security Council that Iran had set up a training base just over five miles from Damascus.

"What you can see here is Iran’s central induction and recruitment centre in Syria. There are over 80,000 militants in Syria under Iranian control. It is at this base, just over five miles from Damascus, where they are trained to commit acts of terror in Syria and across the region, Danon said.