Iranian leader Mojtaba Khamenei threatens Washington, says US belongs at bottom of Persian Gulf

Iran’s newly installed “supreme leader,” Mojtaba Khamenei, issued a direct threat against the United States on Thursday, declaring that Washington has no place in the Persian Gulf “except at the bottom of its waters,” according to a statement read on Iranian state television.

Khamenei, who is reportedly hiding in an undisclosed location, said the Iranian ayatollah regime seeks a “future without America” in the Middle East. He also claimed that 90 million Iranians “will protect” the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and missile capabilities, a reference to U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand that Tehran abandon its nuclear weapons program and scale back its ballistic missile arsenal.

“Ninety million proud and honorable Iranians inside and outside the country regard all of Iran’s identity-based, spiritual, human, scientific, industrial and technological capacities – from nanotechnology and biotechnology to nuclear and missile capabilities – as national assets, and will protect them just as they protect the country’s waters, land and airspace,” the statement attributed to Khamenei read.

“By God’s help and power, the bright future of the Persian Gulf region will be a future without America, one serving the progress, comfort and prosperity of its people,” Khamenei continued.

“We and our neighbors across the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman share a common destiny. Foreigners who come from thousands of kilometers away to act with greed and malice there have no place in it – except at the bottom of its waters,” the new Iranian leader warned.

Despite the regime’s rhetoric, unofficial reports indicate that a large majority of Iranians oppose the ayatollah leadership. The Islamic regime in Tehran reportedly massacred tens of thousands of protesters over several days in January, with most victims said to be civilians, including women and children.

Mojtaba Khamenei was formally appointed as Iran’s next leader after the Israeli Air Force eliminated his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with dozens of senior Iranian officials in a coordinated strike with the United States on Feb. 28. However, he has not been seen in public since the beginning of the war six weeks ago.

The Times reported in April that Khamenei had been incapacitated and was in “severe condition” following the strike. He was reportedly treated in the Shiite holy city of Qom, about 140 km (87 miles) from Tehran, and was expected to undergo prosthetic leg and plastic surgery for facial burns. The report added that his condition makes it difficult for him to speak.

His continued absence has fueled speculation over whether he is still alive and who is effectively running the Islamic Republic. Reports point to a growing power struggle between civilian authorities and the more hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Several accounts in April suggested that IRGC commander Ahmad Vahidi had seized control in Tehran.

Aimen Dean, a former Al Qaeda member turned intelligence analyst, argued that Vahidi had taken control of the regime with backing from China, Russia, Turkey, and others.

“He was leading a coup… he had the support of Russia, of China, some GCC members, including Saudi Arabia, most importantly from Turkey and of course, the Pakistanis wanted to support him. Of course, the Pakistanis were presenting him to the Trump administration as ‘this is now the face of the regime change,’” Dean assessed.

Vahidi is wanted by Interpol for his alleged role in the 1994 bombing of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which killed 85 people and injured around 300.