TEHRAN – Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on May 26 that regional countries would no longer be shields for US bases, in a written statement carried by state television.
“What is certain in this regard is that the hands of time will not turn backwards, and the nations and lands of the region will no longer serve as shields for American bases,” said Mr Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since he took office in March, in a message marking the Eid al-Adha holiday.
He said the United States was losing influence in the region, “moving further and further away from its former status with each passing day”.
The remarks come as Iran and the US continued exchanges aimed at reaching a deal to end the war which began on Feb 28 and spread across the region.
A fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 8.
Iran’s foreign ministry has said Tehran and Washington reached understandings on many issues in exchanges over a deal for ending the war, but warned an agreement was not yet imminent.
On May 26, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had downed a US drone and shot at other aircraft attempting to enter the country’s airspace, without specifying when the incidents took place.
In a statement, the Guards further warned “against any violation of the ceasefire by the aggressor US military and considers its right to reciprocal response legitimate and certain”.
On May 25, the US Central Command said forces attacked missile sites in southern Iran and boats trying to lay mines, despite the ceasefire.
Iran has not officially confirmed the US attack but state media reported blasts in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas without specifying their source.
Mr Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, succeeded his father Ali Khamenei who was killed in the opening US-Israel strikes of Feb 28, triggering retaliatory attacks by Tehran across the region. AFP
