Iran's new supreme leader warns US to stay out of Gulf

Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has issued a defiant threat against the United States, declaring that Americans have no place in the Persian Gulf except "at the bottom of its waters." The statement, read aloud on Iranian state television on Thursday, comes as the Strait of Hormuz remains under Iranian blockade with the U.S. Navy maintaining its own blockade in the neighboring Gulf of Oman. Khamenei, who has not been seen publicly since taking power following the February 28 airstrike that killed his 86-year-old father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Iran would secure the Gulf region and ensure a "future free of America serving the progress, comfort and prosperity of its people." The message also declared that Iran will protect its "nuclear and missile capabilities" as national assets, even as President Donald Trump pushes for a deal to dismantle Tehran's nuclear program. Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, is reportedly seriously injured and passing messages from a hospital bed through top security officials and Revolutionary Guard commanders, according to sources familiar with his condition. Four senior Iranian officials told The New York Times that while the supreme leader remains mentally alert, he is relying heavily on army generals, particularly within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to manage the country's affairs and decision-making. Negotiations between Washington and Tehran have collapsed, with mediation efforts by Pakistan and Oman failing to bring delegations back to the table. An Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz while postponing nuclear program talks received little enthusiasm from the Trump administration. The escalating tensions come as the Pentagon confirmed Trump is considering options to re-escalate the conflict, including fresh airstrikes, limited ground force deployment, or using special forces to seize Iran's enriched uranium stockpiles. The Strait of Hormuz represents one of the world's most critical chokepoints for global oil shipments, and Khamenei's statement suggested that new management of the waterway would bring economic benefits to all Gulf nations while eliminating what he described as centuries of foreign interference.