Khamenei says Iran will drive enemy forces out of Arabian Sea

Iranian forces have pushed “enemy forces” from waters off southern Iran into the Arabian Sea and will soon drive them out of those waters as well, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said Monday, Fars News reported.

Khamenei made the claim in a message published on his Telegram channel, according to Reuters. He did not identify the foreign forces he was referring to.

“Iranian forces have driven enemy forces back from waters off southern Iran to the Arabian Sea,” the message said, warning that they would soon be pushed out of the Arabian Sea as well, Reuters reported.

The statement came amid heightened tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route, following continued military confrontation between Iran and US-led forces in the region.

Iranian state media separately reported that Khamenei said foreign forces had previously treated the seas south of Iran as a “playground” but now avoided moving towards the area after suffering what he described as damaging strikes from Iranian forces defending the Strait of Hormuz.

The claims about the movement of foreign forces were not independently verified.