Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has declared that the United States has suffered a “shameful defeat,” rejecting President Donald Trump’s warning that a US naval blockade could be enforced for months.
In a message read out on state television, Khamenei said, “Today, two months after the largest military deployment and aggression by the world’s bullies in the region, and the United States’ disgraceful defeat in its plans, a new chapter is unfolding for the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.”
The statement came as he has not appeared publicly since his appointment on March 9 as Iran’s new supreme leader, following what was described as a major US and Israeli military campaign on February 28 that killed his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei said US bases in the region “lack even the capacity to ensure their own security, let alone provide any hope of securing their allies,” while praising Iran’s “new legal framework and management” of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. He said this approach would bring “comfort and progress” to regional countries.
The Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy chokepoint, has remained a flashpoint amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, with Iran reportedly allowing only limited maritime traffic through the waterway.
He added that Iran’s future for the Gulf region would not include foreign interference, saying those who come from thousands of kilometres away “have no place there except at the bottom of its waters.”
Khamenei further criticised what he called the historical role of Western powers, saying European and American interventions had brought “insecurity, damage, and multiple threats” to Gulf countries, reflecting “malicious schemes of global oppressors.”
He also highlighted Iran’s national strength, saying the country considers its “identity, spiritual, human, scientific, industrial, and advanced technologies from nano and bio to nuclear and missile fields” as its national capital.
Earlier on Thursday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian also dismissed the threat of a US naval blockade in response to tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, saying such actions were “doomed to fail” and would only increase regional instability.
He warned that such measures would “not only fail to enhance regional security, but are in fact a source of tension and a disruption to lasting stability in the Persian Gulf.”
Separately, Iran’s Navy Commander Shahram Irani said the country would soon deploy newly developed naval weaponry, signalling further military preparedness amid rising regional tensions.