Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei declared on Tuesday that regional states would no longer act as “shields” for American military bases, as Tehran and Washington continue engaging in tense negotiations, with some signs of apparent progress.
In a written statement carried by Iranian state television to mark the Eid al-Adha holiday, Khamenei said the balance of power in the region was shifting away, with the US no longer being the dominant force anymore.
“What is certain in this regard is that 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,” the statement said.
Khamenei also claimed Washington was steadily losing influence across the West Asia, saying the US was “moving further and further away from its former status with each passing day”.
The remarks came as diplomatic exchanges between Iran and the United States continued over a possible framework to end the conflict that erupted on February 28 and later spread across the wider region.
Khamenei has not appeared publicly since taking office in March following the death of his father and predecessor Ali Khamenei. No photographs, video footage or audio recordings of the new supreme leader have been released since his appointment, who is said to be heavily injured in the same attack which killed his father and much of the Iranian leadership on February 28.
According to US officials familiar with intelligence assessments, Khamenei is believed to be operating from an undisclosed location under extremely tight security following his injuries, and is probably disfigured, delegating much of his authority to the IRGC.
American intelligence officials say communication with him is conducted through a network of couriers and intermediaries, with little direct outside access.
In a separate message issued for the Hajj pilgrimage, Khamenei also reiterated the Islamic Republic’s long-standing anti-Israel rhetoric, declaring that the Jewish state would not exist within the next 15 years.
The statement echoed remarks made a decade ago by Ali Khamenei, who had said that Israel would “not see the next 25 years”.
Describing Israel as an “unstable Zionist regime” and a “cancerous tumour”, the message claimed that Jerusalem was now “approaching the final stages of its cursed existence”.
