The Islamic Republic‘s supreme leader issued a warning that U.S. bases in the Middle East are no longer safe.
Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei delivered this warning in a message Tuesday to mark the beginning of Hajj — an annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.
This comes a day after the U.S. military launched “defensive strikes” on southern Iran.
“The hands of time do not turn backward, and the nations and lands of the region will no longer serve as shields for American bases,” Khamenei said in his statement.
Iran has targeted American bases and energy infrastructure in the region since the strikes began in late February.
Six U.S. service members were killed during a March drone strike on an office space in Kuwait.
“America, in addition to no longer having a safe place for aggression and military bases in the region, is moving further away from its former status day by day,” the Iranian leader said.
U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins confirmed the strikes in a statement to NewsNation, The Hill‘s broadcast partner.
“U.S. forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” Hawkins said. “Targets included missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines. U.S. Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire.”
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said the U.S. “committed a gross violation” of the temporary truce between the two nations with this strike.
“Iran holds the U.S. regime responsible for all the consequences resulting from these aggressive and unjustified actions,” it said in a statement Tuesday.
On Saturday, President Donald Trump said a deal with Iran was “largely negotiated.” Trump added the agreement included reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil trading corridor, and bringing an end to the hostilities.
He has been under pressure to negotiate the waterway’s reopening as rising energy and gas prices plague the U.S. and beyond.
The potential agreement led costs to lower slightly. The average price of standard gas in the U.S. was up to around $4.5 a gallon on Tuesday, according to AAA.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday negotiations to end this conflict are continuing. Qatar is the mediator.
“I think there’s strong alignment and agreement on what a preliminary draft should look like,” Rubio told reporters in Jaipur, India, on Tuesday morning.
“I think like anything with something like this, it’s going to take a couple days to settle on even down to the disagreements over a word, a sentence. So we’ll have to work through that,” he continued. “If there’s going to be a deal, we’re going to have to work through that.”
