Iran’s supreme leader vows to drive ‘enemy forces’ from Arabian Sea

TEHRAN, Sept 28: Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei says Iran’s military has driven the “enemy” from waters off southern Iran to the Arabian Sea.

“Having suffered painful blows from our valiant combatants and the guardians of the Strait of Hormuz, they [the enemy] dare not venture beyond the Arabian Sea,” Khamenei said in a message marking the Iran-Iraq War and anniversary of Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in 2024.

“Whenever they have risked doing so they have only inflicted harm upon themselves, and the time is fast approaching when the Arabian Sea, too, will be cleared of their presence.”

A top Iranian military official has doubled down on Tehran’s control of the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

“Despite the rhetoric of the enemy, the fact is the Strait of Hormuz is under our complete control,” said Admiral HabibollahSayyari, who serves as chief of staff.

“We act decisively in the north of the Oman Sea and east of the Strait of Hormuz and do not allow anyone to cross,” Sayyari added.

“West of the Strait of Hormuz, the strait itself, and the Persian Gulf are under the full control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy. East of the Strait of Hormuz and the north of the Indian Ocean are under the full control of the navy.”

The US has rejected an Iranian plan for a seven-day ceasefire to reopen Hormuz to maritime trade, prolonging the deadlock over ending the war.

Richard Schmierer, a former US ambassador to Oman, says Trump appears to be weighing the outcome of the midterm elections while trying to resolve the war on Iran.

“In some respects he certainly wants to delay things until after the November 3 elections, but on the other hand the war is very unpopular. Gas and diesel prices in the US are very high,” Schmierer told Al Jazeera.�" AL JAZEERA