Iran supreme leader says U.S. will be forced out of West Asia: state TV

Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said Monday (September 28, 2026) that the United States would be forced to leave West Asia after suffering "painful blows", according to a statement carried by state television.

Mr. Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since the start of the West Asia war in late February, made the remarks despite attempts to revive talks aimed at ending the fighting.

"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," Mr. Khamenei said in the written statement attributed to him, without explicitly mentioning the United States.

"Whenever they have braved this risk, they have only brought harm upon themselves. It will not be long before the Arabian Sea, too, would rid itself of their presence," he added.