Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said the United States would be forced to leave West Asia after suffering “painful blows”, in a statement carried by state television, according to AFP, in a text republished by The Hindu.

In a written statement attributed to him, Khamenei said that “today, having suffered painful blows at the hands of valiant fighters and the guardians of the Strait of Hormuz, they [the enemies] do not venture beyond the Arabian Sea”, according to The Hindu. Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since the start of the war in late February, made the remarks despite attempts to revive talks aimed at ending the fighting, Middle East Eye noted.