Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei declared that regional nations would no longer serve as shields for United States military bases, warning that Washington would soon have 'no safe haven' in the Middle East. In a statement published on his Telegram channel during the Hajj pilgrimage, he said the region would not return to past conditions and that the influence of the United States was fading.

The remarks come as Tehran and Washington discuss a framework to end their three month conflict. Khamenei, who assumed leadership in March after his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in joint United States and Israeli air strikes, has not appeared publicly since the war began.

His message reaffirmed that slogans such as 'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel' would remain rallying cries across the Islamic world, particularly among young people. He also claimed that Iran had targeted the United States and Israel with missile and drone capabilities across land, sea, and air, and urged regional countries to cooperate in shaping what he described as a new regional and global order.