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Iran has declared it will oversee a “future free of America” in a statement said to be from the Iranian supreme leader, as he threatened to US “aliens” to the “depths of the water”.
The supreme leader, who is the son of late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is believed by the US to be severely injured and is reportedly passing on messages from a hospital bed, via top security officials.
“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,” it read.
“America’s hollow bases can barely guarantee their own safety, let alone that of their dependents or pro-American allies in the area.
( ISNA )
“Those aliens who, from thousands of kilometers away, greedily sow mischief in that [expanse of the blue waters of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman], have no place there except in the depths of its waters,” it adds.
The statement says that a new chapter for the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz has been taking shape since the Iran war with the United States and Israel broke out on February 28.
Tehran, the statement reads, would secure the Gulf region and eliminate what he described as "the enemy's abuses of the waterway."
The Supreme Leader added that new management of the Strait of Hormuz would bring calm, progress and economic benefits to all Gulf nations.
“This strategic asset has long provoked the greed of many evildoers over the centuries,” the message added.
“The record of repeated invasions by European and American foreigners—the insecurities, damages, and multiple threats they have imposed on the region’s countries—reflects only a fraction of the malicious schemes of global oppressors against the peoples of the Persian Gulf.”
Negotiators from Washington and Tehran have been unable to come to an agreement on the future of the Strait of Hormuz, which is currently being blockaded by Iranian forces, with the US navy’s own blockade stationed in the neighbouring Gulf of Oman.
Mediation efforts by Pakistan and Oman have failed to bring delegations back to the table, since the failure of talks earlier this month.
More follows on this breaking news story...