Iran supreme leader says US will be forced out of Middle East

“They have only brought harm upon themselves,” Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said, claiming the US would eventually be forced out of the Middle East.

TEHRAN: Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Monday (Sep 28) the United States would be forced to leave the Middle East after suffering "painful blows", according to a statement carried by state television.

Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since the start of the Middle East war in late February, made the remarks despite attempts to revive talks aimed at ending the fighting.

"Today, having suffered painful blows at the hands of valiant fighters and the guardians of the Strait of Hormuz, they (the enemies) do not venture beyond the Arabian Sea," Khamenei said in the written statement attributed to him, without explicitly mentioning the US.

"Whenever they have braved this risk, they have only brought harm upon themselves. It will not be long before the Arabian Sea, too, would rid itself of their presence," he added.

The Arabian Sea, stretching from the Arabian Peninsula toward India in the east, is a vital maritime corridor that leads to Iran's coasts and the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran and the US have been vying for control over Hormuz since the Middle East war started with US–Israeli strikes on Iran in February.

Before the war began, the strategic shipping route carried about a fifth of the world's oil and gas.

But Tehran imposed a blockade on Hormuz after the war started, prompting Washington to respond with its own blockade on Iranian ports.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in New York on Monday that his country had informed the US and the international community of the conditions set by its supreme leader for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, without detailing them.

The foreign minister said Iran discussed ideas with Qatari mediators that will be presented to the US and expects to receive Washington's final response through Doha.

"If the Americans claim they are seeking an agreement or a peaceful solution, we have presented that solution," Araghchi said.

Last week, US President Donald Trump said he had rejected an Iranian proposal for a seven-day truce followed by the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran raised the initiative at the UN General Assembly in New York, saying it had been passed to the Americans via Qatari mediators.

"They want to make a deal to open the Hormuz Strait immediately because they're losing so badly," Trump said before leaving for Tennessee. "We're winning tremendously."

He said after that he expects talks with Iran to resume this week.

source: CNA https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/iran-khamenei-us-middle-east-6416471