Iranian supreme leader claims recent fighting with US, Israel has changed the balance of power in the Mideast, dooming Israel’s existence and marking the end of American power in the region.
By World Israel News Staff
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, used his annual Hajj message Tuesday to issue new threats against the United States and Israel, even as Iranian and US officials continued indirect talks aimed at preserving a fragile ceasefire and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
In a written statement marking the pilgrimage to Mecca, Khamenei said the war had changed the regional balance and warned that US military bases in the Middle East would no longer be protected by neighboring countries.
“What is certain 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,” Khamenei said
“The United States not only will no longer have a safe haven for its mischief and for establishing military bases in the region but, day by day, it is growing more distant from its former status.”
Khamenei also repeated Tehran’s long-standing call for Israel’s destruction, saying the Jewish state was approaching the “final stages” of its existence.
“The shaken Zionist regime and the cancerous tumor of Israel are approaching the final stages of their wretched existence,” he said.
The remarks were among Khamenei’s most extensive public statements since the current phase of the war began.
The 56-year-old cleric has not appeared publicly since succeeding his father, Ali Khamenei, after the elder Khamenei was killed in the opening US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. Mojtaba was injured in the bombing, though the extent of his injuries remains unclear, with numerous reports suggesting that he was left disfigured and partially disabled, while Iranian officials have publicly claimed he was only lightly injured.
The threats came as Washington and Tehran continued negotiations, mediated by Pakistan and Qatar, over a possible deal to extend the ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and address parts of Iran’s nuclear program.
AP reported that Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Qatar on Tuesday after talks there, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said discussions on the ceasefire and the strait would “take a few days.”
A senior US official told reporters Sunday that Washington believed Khamenei had endorsed the broad framework of a possible agreement, though there was no immediate Iranian confirmation. The official said further negotiations would be needed on nuclear measures, including how to handle Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium.
