Iran's new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has issued his most extensive public statement since succeeding his father, vowing that regional countries will no longer serve as staging grounds for American military bases. The 14-page message, released on Tuesday to mark the Eid al-Adha holiday and the hajj pilgrimage, directly challenges the United States' military footprint in the Persian Gulf and beyond.
"The hands of time will not turn backwards, and the nations and lands of the region will no longer serve as shields for American bases," Khamenei wrote, according to state-run television. He added that the US "in addition to no longer having any safe haven in the region for aggression and the establishment of military bases, is moving further and further away from its former position with each passing day."
The statement comes amid a sharp escalation in military activity. US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed it carried out strikes on missile sites and boats attempting to lay mines in southern Iran, describing the operations as acts of self-defence. Tehran swiftly condemned the strikes as a "flagrant violation" of the ceasefire framework in the Hormozgan region, with its foreign ministry vowing to "leave no act of aggression unanswered."
Military Clashes and Maritime Incident
Iranian state media reported explosions in the port city of Bandar Abbas, though details remain scarce. Domestic outlets said four members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killed, a claim Tehran has not officially confirmed. The IRGC separately stated it had downed a US drone and fired at other aircraft attempting to enter Iranian airspace, without specifying when these incidents occurred.
At sea, the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre reported that an external explosion struck a tanker approximately 60 nautical miles east of Oman's capital Muscat, near the waterline at the port-side stern. The crew was reported safe, but fuel was observed leaking into the sea. The incident underscores the volatility of the region's shipping lanes, which are critical for global energy supplies.
The military escalation unfolded as Iranian negotiators were in Doha for talks with Qatari counterparts on a possible peace framework. IRGC-affiliated media said parliament speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf had returned to Tehran after the talks, suggesting little progress was made.
Khamenei, 56, has not appeared in public since his father Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February, the opening salvo of the current conflict. International outlets have previously reported that Mojtaba Khamenei was severely injured and required extensive surgery, citing Iranian officials. Tehran has not commented on those reports.
In his statement, Khamenei praised what he called the "Resistance Front" across the region and described Hamas's 7 October attack on Israel as a "storm of Aqsa," saying "it was the weapon of 'Allahu Akbar' that brought (Israel's) breath to its final count." Nasser Arasteh, deputy head of the ayatollah's military advisory body, echoed the statement's tone, declaring, "In the future, the United States will have no place in the Persian Gulf, and this will be realised either with war or without war."
The developments come as European powers closely monitor the situation, given the potential for broader instability affecting energy markets and security in the Mediterranean and beyond. The EU has recently sealed a trade deal with Mexico amid questions about US military commitments to NATO, as reported by European Pulse. Meanwhile, tensions over US military ambitions in Greenland have also drawn European attention, with local protests echoing sentiments similar to those expressed by Khamenei, as covered in our earlier report.
For European readers, the implications are twofold: the risk of a wider conflict in the Gulf could disrupt oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for European energy imports, while the broader geopolitical realignment—with Iran and its allies challenging US influence—may reshape security dynamics from the Balkans to the Baltic. As the situation evolves, European Pulse will continue to provide analysis on how these shifts affect the continent's interests.
