The alleged, but missing, “supreme leader” of Iran Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly issued a written message on Thursday declaring that his country will impose a “new legal framework and management system for the Strait of Hormuz” that will result in a future “free of America” in the waterway.
Khamenei’s message declared the Strait, in which Iran has for over a month attempted to endanger commercial traffic, a “divine blessing” for his nation that the Islamist terror regime takes seriously. His statement, issued on the occasion of Iran’s “National Persian Gulf Day,” also contained a commitment to continue the regime’s illicit nuclear development — the main issue that the administration of President Donald Trump is seeking to settle with Iran.
The message follows weeks of attempts to end hostilities between Iran and America that began on February 28, when the Pentagon launched Operation Epic Fury and killed Khamenei’s father, longtime brutal dictator Ali Khamenei. President Trump announced a ceasefire this month that was initially intended to last two weeks, but has since been extended indefinitely. In public statements on his website, Truth Social, President Trump has explained that the extension was necessary given the large number of senior leaders in the Iranian regime that have been killed, resulting in unclear leadership and an intense power struggle within the terror state’s government apparatus. Iranian officials have attempted to deny the discord among their ranks but also have not at press time been able to organize a coherent response to the White House’s attempts to construct a long-lasting peace agreement.
While American airstrikes on Iran have not continued since the beginning of the ceasefire, President Trump has kept in place a U.S. naval blockade barring Iranian ships from freely transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. The blockade is a response to Iran attempting to similarly prevent nearly all international commercial shipping through the Strait, reportedly also placing mines in the water. Reports suggest that Iran has reached out to the Trump administration asking for an end to the blockages in the Strait of Hormuz before any negotiation on its illicit nuclear program; the White House has not responded publicly to the proposal at press time.
The message allegedly from Mojtaba Khamenei — who rumors suggest may be too injured to run the country — published on Thursday indicated that he was planning to implement a new Iranian maritime policy in the Strait, though it offered no meaningful details.
“The Islamic Republic, in grateful action for the divine blessing of managing the Strait of Hormuz, will secure the Persian Gulf region and end the hostile misuse of this waterway,” the message read in part, according to a translation by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)
“The new legal framework and management system for the Strait of Hormuz will advance comfort and development for all the region’s nations, and its economic benefits will bring joy to the nation,” it continued.
Khamenei allegedly complained of “centuries” of “malicious schemes of global oppressors against the peoples of the Persian Gulf” and vowed to eliminate the presence of the United States and its allies in the region as a whole.
“By divine will, the future of the Persian Gulf will be bright — a future free of America, devoted to progress, peace, and prosperity for its nations,” the message continued. “We, the peoples and neighbors of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, share a common destiny, and the foreigners who covetously meddle here from thousands of kilometers away have no rightful place, except at the depths of its waters.”
Nearly all commercial travel in the Strait of Hormuz is currently shut down, though a small number of ships have made safe passage in the past month. The Associated Press reported on Thursday that some unconfirmed reports indicate that Iran has been using the conflict to enrich itself, charging as much as $2 million for safe travel. The limitations on transit in the Strait have caused massive global economic disruption, particularly forcing the elevation of oil prices.
President Trump suggested on Wednesday that the U.S. Navy could continue operations to block Iranian commerce in the Strait “for months if needed,” expressing optimism that Washington could achieve its objective of eliminating the threat of the Iranian terror state to America and its allies without conventional warfare.
“The blockade is somewhat more effective than the bombing,” Trump said in remarks to the Washington, DC, website Axios. “They are choking like a stuffed pig.”
The Iranian government appears to have chosen to respond to Trump’s suggestion with more threats. In addition to the statement from “Mojtaba Khamenei,” the head of Iran’s navy, Rear Admiral Shahram Irani, promised in remarks on Thursday that the terror state would soon unveil a mysterious and “terrifying” new weapon.
“Admiral Iran said the adversaries are deeply afraid of the new weapon the Islamic Republic plans to unveil close to where they are stationed,” IRNA shared. “He noted the enemies had wrongfully assumed their military aggression would achieve their stated objectives ‘in the shortest possible time.’”
The Iranian state media report gave no indication on the nature of the alleged “new weapon.”
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