After the U.S. Strike, Khamenei Issues a Warning: "The U.S. Will No Longer Have a Safe Haven in the Region"

Islamic Republic leader Mojtaba Khamenei delivered a sharp message today (Tuesday) to the Gulf states. In a statement published on his Telegram channel, Khamenei said that "the peoples and countries of the region will no longer serve as a shield for American military bases — the U.S. will no longer return to being a point of security for acts of aggression and for the placement of military bases in the region."

He then also addressed the Islamic countries and governments in the region: "To friendship, and to cooperation for good and for acts of kindness. Israel is approaching the final stages of its miserable life."

These remarks come just hours after an unusual military escalation between Washington and Tehran. Overnight, U.S. military forces struck targets belonging to the Revolutionary Guards in Iran, including two boats that, according to the report, had laid mines in the Strait of Hormuz, alongside a surface-to-air missile site in Bandar Abbas. The incident comes at an especially sensitive moment, as talks toward a new nuclear agreement are continuing in parallel, though reports say the negotiations have slowed.

The Revolutionary Guards responded officially for the first time to the American strike and made clear that, from their perspective, the option of retaliation remains on the table. In a statement they published, they said they reserve the "legitimate and absolute right" to respond to any American violation of the ceasefire. At the same time, Iranian state media reported that the Revolutionary Guards' air defense systems had shot down an American MQ-9 drone, and also that fire had been opened at a fighter jet they claim entered the airspace of the Islamic Republic.