Khamenei signals US-free future for Strait of Hormuz amid fragile ceasefire

Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said a "new chapter" is taking shape in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, noting that a region sans a U.S. presence could see a "bright future", according to state television.

In remarks marking Persian Gulf Day, the Iranian leader signaled that the region's balance of power has been shifted after what he described as the loss of joint US and Israeli military attacks in Iran.

"Today, with two months having passed since the world's tyrants' largest military mobilisation and aggression in the region and America's humiliating defeat in its own scheme, a new chapter for the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz is taking shape," he said.

Addressing Iran's Gulf neighbours, Khamenei said Tehran shares a "common fate" with them, adding that “foreigners who commit evil” have no place but in the “depths of the water".

The Iranian leader also framed Tehran's role as key to bringing stability to regional upheaval, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz, where Khamenei proposed a new management of the main trading waterway would bring “calm, progress and economic benefits” to Gulf nations.

Additionally, Iran's supreme leader said Tehran would dismantle what he described as "US exploitation" of the waterway while doubling down on protecting the country's "missile and nuclear technology like its borders".

Khamenei's remarks come at a tense moment, as CNN reports that the White House is awaiting a revised proposal from Iran after an earlier plan was rejected by Trump.