Region will no longer protect US bases - Iran’s supreme leader

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, declared that regional nations will cease acting as shields for U.S. military bases. In a written statement broadcast on state television, Khamenei asserted that the "hands of time will not turn backwards" and that the region's peoples and lands will no longer support American bases.

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What is certain in this regard is that the hands of time will not turn backwards, and the nations and lands of the region will no longer serve as shields for American bases.

Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since assuming leadership in March, made these remarks while marking the Eid al-Adha holiday. He stated that the United States is increasingly losing its former position in the region and has "no safe haven... for aggression and the establishment of military bases."

These declarations coincide with ongoing diplomatic exchanges between Iran and the United States, which are attempting to broker a deal to end a war that began on February 28 and has destabilized the region. A fragile ceasefire has been in effect since April 8. Iran's Foreign Ministry has indicated that understandings have been reached on many issues, though an agreement is not yet imminent.

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The United States... in addition to no longer having any safe haven in the region for aggression and the establishment of military bases, is moving further and further away from its former position with each passing day.

Earlier on Tuesday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards reported downing a U.S. drone and firing on other aircraft that attempted to enter the country's airspace, without specifying a timeframe for these incidents. The Guards also issued a warning against any ceasefire violations by the U.S. military, asserting their right to retaliate. This follows a U.S. Central Command report from Monday detailing attacks on missile sites in southern Iran and boats attempting to lay mines, despite the existing ceasefire.

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against any violation of the ceasefire by the aggressor US military and considers its right to reciprocal response legitimate and certain.