Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has said the United States will eventually be forced to leave the Middle East after suffering what he called “painful blows”.
Khamenei made the remarks on Monday in a statement carried by Iranian state television.
“Today, having suffered painful blows at the hands of valiant fighters and the guardians of the Strait of Hormuz, they (the enemies) do not venture beyond the Arabian Sea,” Khamenei said, without explicitly naming the US.
“Whenever they have braved this risk, they have only brought harm upon themselves. It will not be long before the Arabian Sea, too, would rid itself of their presence,” he added.
The remarks came as efforts continued to revive talks aimed at ending the fighting between Iran and the US.
The Arabian Sea is a major maritime corridor stretching from the Arabian Peninsula towards India and providing access to Iran’s coastline and the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran and the US have been contesting control of the strategic waterway since the war began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February.
Before the conflict, the Strait of Hormuz carried about one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies.
Tehran imposed a blockade on the strait after the war began, prompting Washington to respond with a blockade of Iranian ports.
