Shafaq News- Tehran

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Tuesday warned that the United States no longer possessed secure positions from which to project power in the Middle East, arguing that the region will not serve as a “shield” for American military bases following the latest war.

In a message addressed to Muslim pilgrims during the Hajj season, Khamenei said recent developments had weakened both Washington and Israel while strengthening the “Resistance Front,” which includes Iran and allied armed factions in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, and elsewhere, with the alliance achieving “major victories” against “two heavily armed terrorist armies” during the war that began on February 28.

Khamenei also described Israel as a “shaking Zionist entity” nearing “the final stages” of its existence, and called for closer cooperation among Muslim countries, as the Islamic world possessed the capabilities needed to shape “the future order of the region and the world.”

Washington and Tehran continue negotiations over a proposed memorandum of understanding aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments pass, and potentially halting fighting across several regional fronts, including Lebanon.

The proposed framework has also intensified debate over the future of Iran-backed armed groups across the region, particularly Hezbollah in Lebanon and allied Iraqi factions, all of which have rejected mounting calls to disarm.

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