Iran’s supreme leader issued a rare statement On Thursday he said there was no room for the United States in the future of the Persian Gulf region and made it clear that his country planned to manage the strategic Strait of Hormuz going forward.
In the defiant message, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei also vowed that Iran would retain its nuclear capabilities. The lengthy statement from the Iranian leader, who has not been seen in public since he was named to the top post nearly two months ago, was shared by his office.
It touched on two of the most thorny issues holding back talks on permanently ending the US-Israeli war with Iran, which began in late February and stalled when a ceasefire was reached this month. Those positions have put Iran at odds with the United States, which has sought to curtail Iran’s nuclear ambitions and insists it cannot limit use of the Strait of Hormuz to ships of its choice.
““By the will and power of God, the Persian Gulf region will not have a bright future even without the United States,” said the statement, which was issued on Iran’s National Day of the Persian Gulf, an annual commemoration of the 1622 military victory over Portugal in the Strait of Hormuz.
Regarding the fighting over the narrow waterway, one of the most important shipping routes for global oil supplies, the statement said: “There is no place for foreigners who come from thousands of kilometers away, acting maliciously out of greed, except at the bottom of its waters.”
It added that Iran “will implement the new legal framework and management of the Strait of Hormuz”, suggesting the country has no plans to give up control over the shipping route. It said such a system would benefit its neighbors and prove economically useful.
Iran laid out plans to reopen the strait in a proposal over the weekend that was rejected by the Trump administration, but imposed heavy tolls on tankers passing through. Persian Gulf Arab states, including Oman, which border the southern part of the strait, have also objected to the idea.
Talks to end the war appear to be at an impasse. President Trump told his advisers this week that he was dissatisfied with Iran’s latest proposal, which would have reopened the strait while sidestepping questions about Iran’s nuclear program.
Both sides are enforcing a dual blockade around the Strait of Hormuz, which is typically used to transport about a fifth of the world’s oil supply. Energy prices have increased as a result.
The war has devastated Iran’s economy, with the Iranian rial currency hitting new lows against the dollar this week.
Mr Khamenei’s statement listed Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities as “national assets” for Iranians to defend “just like their land, sea and air borders.”
Mr Khamenei in the statement referred to the Persian Gulf’s national day, which has taken on additional political significance for Iran’s authoritarian clerical rulers. He and others posted on social media leaders The date was used to link Iran’s current effort to control the waterway with a long list of historical battles against European colonial powers over the strait.
Mr Khamenei was elected supreme leader after his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the initial US-Israeli attack on Iran in late February. Since then, he has been rarely heard of and never seen in public.
The New York Times reported that Mr. Khamenei was seriously injured in the same air strikes that killed members of his family. While he does not have the same authority as his father, a group of powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps commanders make key decisions on matters of security, war and diplomacy, The Times reports.
Sanam Mahuji And Leelee Nicounazar Contributed to the reporting.
