Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei declared his determination to drive the United States and other hostile forces out of the Arabian Sea as well as the Strait of Hormuz.
Mojtaba issued the national statement on the 28th to mark "Sacred Defense Week," which commemorates the Iran-Iraq War, and the second anniversary of the death of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
He issued a sharply worded warning to Western powers seeking maritime dominance in the region. "In the past, the waters off southern Iran were a playground for enemy forces, but now they do not dare venture beyond the Arabian Sea after suffering painful blows from the guardians of the Strait of Hormuz and our brave fighters," Mojtaba said. He stressed that "the Arabian Sea, too, will soon be fully liberated." He also said that enemies had brought disaster upon themselves each time they took the risk of entering.
The remarks are seen as signaling Iran's intent to solidify its control over the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz and to root out the military influence of the United States and other Western powers across the key Middle Eastern shipping lanes extending to the Arabian Sea.
Mojtaba also claimed that imperialist forces had sought from the earliest days of the revolution to return Iran to its former state, including through war. He declared that the era of backwardness, humiliation and subordination that enemies long for had passed entirely and would not return. Despite sweeping oppression by arrogant powers and two wars, he said, the Islamic system had grown stronger, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, and had now become large enough to cast a shadow over enemy territory.
He also emphasized internal unity, saying more than 30 million Iranians had pledged their devotion to the country. To regional forces relying on false promises from Israel and the imperialists, he warned that "nothing will remain but shame, defeat and humiliation."
