Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has said that the country’s navy is fully prepared to respond to any threat and deliver “new and painful defeats” to its enemies.
Khamenei said the Iranian army “has exposed their weakness and humiliation to the world,” and “its drones strike the American and Zionist criminals like lightning”.
Iran’s supreme leader has marked Army Day by vowing continued resistance against what he called “the two armies at the forefront of infidelity and arrogance”.
“Iranian military stands shoulder to shoulder with other armed forces and is fighting against two major armies”, added Khamenei
Khamenei framed the latest war as a continuation of Iran’s revolutionary tradition, connecting the 1979 Islamic Revolution through two previous “imposed wars” to the present conflict. He said the army “has stood in its rightful place” since the revolution, describing it as “truly the son of the nation” that “comes from the hearts of the people”.
He paid tribute to his predecessor and assassinated father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, describing him as one who “made the most effort since the first decade of the revolution to preserve the army” and enhance its capabilities.
Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public since taking over from his father following his killing at the start of the war in February.
He closed his message with condolences to the families of those killed in what he described as “the war imposed by the United States and the Zionist regime against the great nation of Iran”.
Strait of Hormuz update
On the other hand, Iranian state media reported that the country’s military is regaining control of the Strait of Hormuz. According to the latest statement from the Revolutionary Guards, the Strait would be restored to its original condition, with the armed forces maintaining control of the area.
Some ships had previously been seen passing through the waterway, but it remains unclear how much traffic has resumed since the ban on this vital trade route was lifted.
In its statement, the Iranian military accused the United States of “piracy,” claiming that its so-called blockade amounted to a “robbery of maritime affairs.”
