Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on Friday said Iran was defeating the enemies of the Islamic republic and had struck a “dizzying blow” to its enemies. He made the comments in a defiant written message to the nation for the Persian New Year, Nowruz.
The long statement was published on Khamenei's Telegram channel and carried by Iranian state media – marking the latest message from him after his father, Ali Khamenei, was killed in an airstrike at the outset of the war on February 28, reported AFP.
“At the moment, due to the particular unity that has been created between you our compatriots – despite all the differences in religious, intellectual, cultural and political origins – the enemy has been defeated,” the outlet quoted Khamenei as saying in the message.
Khamenei's message comes as the Israel-US-Iran conflict nears the end of its third week.
Israel-US-Iran conflict
Iran launched a wave of retaliatory attacks after US, Israel's joint strikes on the Islamic Republic. Explosions were heard across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and other key Middle East hubs, which are also home to US military bases.
Iran has also been attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz – which is a critical oil transit corridor.
Trump urged US allies to help restore shipping via Hormuz – urging nations that rely on the key chokepoint to take part in safeguarding the waterway.
Earlier, in an interview with MS Now – Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi said that the Strait remains open to all countries except its “enemies.”
Mojtaba Khamenei's message
In his message, Khamenei said Israel and the United States had the "illusion" that if Ali Khamenei and other military leaders were killed, they would create "fear and despair" and "realise the dream of dominating Iran and then dividing it".
He also said Iran and its allied forces in the region were "in no way" behind attacks on Oman and Turkey during the war, instead blaming "deception by the Zionist enemy" in reference to Israel, reported AFP.
On Friday, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) reportedly pulled several hundred personnel out of Iraq amid the ongoing US-Israel-Iran conflict. Their withdrawal comes in the wake of Iranian attacks targeting British, French and Italian bases in Iraq.
