TEHRAN: Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has said Iran has emerged stronger from years of war and external pressure and will not return to the conditions of its past, while warning that foreign forces would eventually be pushed out of the Arabian Sea.
In a message issued to mark Iran’s Sacred Defense Week and the second anniversary of the killing of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Khamenei highlighted Iran’s eight-year war with Iraq, describing the conflict as a period that strengthened national unity, resistance and self-reliance.
Khamenei said the Islamic Revolution ended an era of foreign domination and argued that attempts by external powers to reverse Iran’s post-revolutionary trajectory had failed. He portrayed the Iran-Iraq war as a major attempt to undermine the Islamic Republic during its early years.
According to Khamenei, the experience of war transformed Iranian society by producing examples of courage, sacrifice, resistance and national solidarity. He contrasted Iran’s current position with what he described as the country’s former dependence on foreign powers.
On the Strait of Hormuz, Khamenei claimed that Iranian forces and those defending the strategic waterway had inflicted significant blows on opposing forces. He said foreign forces had been pushed toward the Arabian Sea and warned that they would eventually be driven from those waters as well.
Khamenei also referred to what he described as widespread readiness among different sections of Iranian society to defend the country. He specifically mentioned women’s participation and said Iran’s population remained prepared to confront external threats.
He further argued that the conditions of Iran’s past, including foreign influence and dependence, would not return. His message presented national unity and military preparedness as central elements of Iran’s ability to withstand external pressure.
Khamenei also paid tribute to Hassan Nasrallah, describing the former Hezbollah secretary-general as an important figure of the resistance movement whose speeches and actions strengthened supporters of the Palestinian cause and resistance groups in the region.
The message came amid continued tensions over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has separately indicated that it could reopen the strategically important waterway under conditions involving reduced US military pressure and the lifting of restrictions on Iranian ports.
Iranian officials have simultaneously continued to signal an interest in diplomacy while maintaining that the country is prepared to respond to further military pressure.