Message of Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, on National Persian Gulf Day;
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
The Persian Gulf: A Divine Blessing and Coveted by Foreigners
One of the unparalleled blessings of Almighty God for the Muslim nations of our region, especially the noble people of Islamic Iran, is the gift of the Persian Gulf. This blessing is far more than a body of water. It forms part of our identity and civilisation, and, in addition to being a point of connection among nations, it has created a vital and unique artery for the global economy through the Strait of Hormuz and, beyond it, the Sea of Oman. This strategic asset has aroused the greed of many devils over the past centuries. The repeated aggressions of the Europeans and Americans and the insecurity, losses, and numerous threats imposed on the countries of the region are only a small part of the sinister schemes of the world’s arrogant powers against the peoples living around the Persian Gulf. The latest example of this was the recent armed intimidation of the Great Satan.
The Islamic Revolution: The Turning Point of Resistance for the Independence of the Persian Gulf
The Iranian nation, which has the longest coastline along the Persian Gulf, has made the greatest sacrifices for its independence. It has made sacrifices from the expulsion of the Portuguese and the liberation of the Strait of Hormuz, which is the basis for naming the 10th of Ordibehesht (April 30th) as “Persian Gulf National Day”, to the struggle against Dutch colonialism and the epic occasions of resistance against British colonialism, and so on. But the Islamic Revolution was the turning point of this resistance in neutralising the arrogant powers in the Persian Gulf region. Today, two months after the greatest military mobilisation and aggression by the world’s tyrants in the region, and after the humiliating failure of America’s plan, a new chapter for the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz is being written. Over the past sixty days the peoples of the Persian Gulf region, who for many years had become accustomed to the silence and humiliation of their rulers in the face of tyrants and aggressors, have witnessed with their own eyes the beautiful manifestations of fortitude, vigilance, and struggle by the brave men of the naval forces of the Army and the IRGC, alongside the zeal and warrior spirit of the people and youth of the southern front of our beloved Iran rejecting foreign domination.
Today, by the grace of the Exalted Truth, (Glorious and Exalted is He) and thanks to the blood of the oppressed martyrs of the Third Imposed War, especially to the great Leader and the precious memory of the Founder of the Islamic Revolution (May Allah elevate his noble station), it has been proven, not only in international public opinion and in the nations of the region, but also for the sultans and rulers of these countries, that foreign American presence, their establishment of bases and their enclaves in the lands of the Persian Gulf have been the most important factors creating insecurity in the region. America’s hollow bases do not even have the capacity to ensure their own security, let alone give hope of securing the safety of America’s lackeys and Americophiles in the region. By divine power and strength, the bright future of the Persian Gulf region will be a future without America, thus serving the progress, comfort, and welfare of its peoples.
We share a common destiny with our neighbours in the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. Foreigners who, from thousands of kilometres away, greedily engage in mischief here have no place in it except at the bottom of its waters. And this chain of victory, which, thanks to the Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He), has been realised under the policies and strategies of resistance and that of a strong Iran, will be the dawn of a new order in the region and the world.
Securing the Persian Gulf through new management of the Strait of Hormuz
Today, the miraculous awakening of the Iranian nation is not limited to the millions of self-sacrificing fighters in the struggle against the Zionists and bloodthirsty Americans. At the vanguard of the united and solid ranks of the mobilised Islamic ummah stand 90 million brave and noble Iranians, both inside and outside the country. They consider all their capacities of identity, spirituality, humanity, science, industry, and the foundational and advanced technologies they have, from nanotechnology and biotechnology to nuclear and missile capabilities, as their national capital, and they will defend them just as they defend the nation’s maritime, land, and air borders.
Practically expressing its gratitude for the blessing of exercising management over the Strait of Hormuz, Islamic Iran will secure the Persian Gulf region and dismantle the enemy's hostile misuse of this waterway. The legal rules and the exercise of new management over the Strait of Hormuz will bring comfort and progress for the benefit of all the nations of the region, and its economic blessings will gladden the heart of the nation by God’s permission, even if the disbelievers hate it.
Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei
10 Ordibehesht 1405 [April 30, 2026]