Iran International
Iran’s leadership is hardening its stance on the Strait of Hormuz, framing the waterway as a strategic and non-negotiable asset amid rising tensions and US pressure.
Statements have intensified following a message for National Persian Gulf Day attributed to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
In the message, he described the strait as a “strategic asset” and outlined a vision for the region’s future as “a future without America,” emphasizing the importance of “Iranian management of the strait.”
Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf signaled the shift most clearly, linking current policy to both strategic doctrine and historical precedent.
“Today as well, by exercising management over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran will ensure that it and its neighbors enjoy the valuable prospect of a future free from the presence and interference of America,” he wrote on X.
In a separate English-language post, he mocked the feasibility of a US naval blockade, sharing a map of the United States and arguing that even drawing walls from coast to coast would still fall short of Iran’s total border length.
“If you build two walls, one from New York to the West Coast and another from Los Angeles to the East Coast, the total length will still be about 1,000 kilometers shorter than Iran’s borders,” he wrote. “Good luck blockading a country with those borders.”
The tougher messaging comes as Washington pursues a strategy of sustained economic pressure, including a naval blockade aimed at restricting Iran’s oil exports. The Strait of Hormuz—through which roughly a fifth of global oil supply passes—has become the central point of confrontation in the standoff.
Reports from US media suggest the Trump administration is seeking international backing for a maritime coalition to secure shipping routes, while also rejecting Iranian proposals to reopen the strait as part of interim negotiations.
Masoud Foroughi, deputy managing editor of the conservative newspaper Farhikhtegan, described Khamenei’s message as more than routine rhetoric, calling it a “strategic signal” and arguing that it rejects the idea—raised by some in Tehran—that the strait could be used as a bargaining chip.
Other officials struck an even harder line. Deputy parliament speaker Ali Nikzad said the strait “must not return to its previous state,” while describing it as Iran’s “atomic bomb”—a remark underscoring its perceived strategic leverage.
Friday prayer leaders reinforced the message. Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Supreme Leader’s representative in Khorasan-e Razavi, said negotiations with the United States amount to surrender and argued that control over the strait allows Iran to “deal with the world” without talks.
In Tehran, interim Friday prayer leader Mohammad-Javad Haj Ali-Akbari said the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz are not only non-negotiable but will operate under a “new legal regime” shaped by Iran and regional partners.
Yet the rhetoric has not been entirely uniform, and diplomatic contacts have not entirely ceased.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported that Tehran submitted a new proposal to the United States via a Pakistani intermediary this week, underscoring the dual track of pressure and limited engagement.
President Masoud Pezeshkian also struck a more measured tone, warning against the continuation of a blockade while reaffirming Iran’s commitment to freedom of navigation and maritime safety—except for hostile countries.
“Any effort to impose a naval blockade or maritime restrictions in the Persian Gulf is contrary to international law and a threat to the interests of regional nations and global peace and stability,” he said, adding that responsibility for any insecurity would lie with the United States and Israel.
Even as some voices warn of the risks of prolonged confrontation, the dominant message from Tehran’s political, clerical and media circles is that control over the strait is a red line rather than a negotiating tool.
That stance suggests that, despite mounting economic and military pressure, Tehran is seeking to redefine the Strait of Hormuz not as leverage—but as a fixed pillar of its regional strategy.
Tehran’s unveiling of a towering statue depicting the Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling before pre-Islamic Persian King Shapur I has renewed criticism of the Islamic Republic’s appeal to nationalist sentiment following the June war with Israel.
For over forty years, the theocracy purged ancient Persian history from schoolbooks, replacing it with post-Islamic narratives. But after the 12-day conflict with Israel, officials have turned to the distant pre-Islamic past to rally a divided society.
From murals of ancient kings and soldiers to patriotic songs added to Shi’ite mourning ceremonies performed before Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Tehran now embraces imagery once deemed heretical by its own revolutionary ethos.
'Kneel before Iran' campaign
Tehran’s Revolution (Enghelab) Square was the scene of an unusual spectacle on Friday as officials unveiled a massive bronze statue depicting Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling in submission before Sassanid King Shapur I, commemorating Iran’s victory at the Battle of Edessa (260 AD).
The event was held under the slogan “Kneel before Iran,” part of what authorities describe as a campaign to project “national unity and historical pride” following the June war with Israel.
Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani, a staunch ultraconservative, said on X: “Enmity with Great Iran can only end in kneeling before this historic nation.”
Municipal official Davood Goodarzi said the installation would be accompanied by visual displays depicting “other victories of Iranians over foreign aggressors,” including the defeat of British forces by local commander Rais-Ali Delvari, Mirza Kuchak Khan’s resistance against Russian troops, and Surena’s triumph over Rome at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BCE.
The goal, Goodarzi said, is “strengthening concepts such as national dignity, social unity, and Iranian identity.”
The statue, he said, would remain temporarily at Revolution Square before being moved to a city gateway “where it will stand as the first emblem of Iran before diplomats and foreign visitors.”
Unveiled women were allowed to attend the unveiling ceremony—an uncommon scene at events organized by Tehran’s ultra-hardline municipality.
The turn to the pre-Islamic past
The sharp reversal also recalls remarks once made by Khamenei. In a 2011 speech, he asserted that “all the great military victories of this nation came after Islam,” dismissing pre-Islamic accounts as “things that are not documented.”
In 1987, he had said that prophets triumphed over kings such as Cyrus and that “nothing remains of these monarchs in history but names remembered with derision.”
Nevertheless, pro-government social media accounts have now gone so far as to circulate posters equating Khamenei himself with Shapur, showing him standing with a staff as Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump kneel before him. The caption reads: “You will kneel before Iran.”
'Hypocrisy'
Pro-government figures have hailed the move as a patriotic success. Conservative political reporter Hossein Saremi posted: “Today’s grand Iranian gathering showed that people and the state share one essence: Iran itself. Nothing can take our homeland away.”
Others, however, called the spectacle “hypocrisy.” Journalist Gholamhossein Pashaei wrote on X: “Every year you close Pasargadae to stop people from celebrating Cyrus Day, yet you unveil Shapur’s statue in Enghelab Square with drums and fireworks during Fatimiyya (mourning period)!”
Dissident commentator Hamid Asafi called the ceremony “a perfect snapshot of the Islamic Republic’s contradictions.”
On Telegram he wrote: “A week ago they closed Cyrus’s tomb out of fear of the crowds, and now they glorify Shapur in the same breath. The Islamic Republic fears living history but poses for selfies with its corpse.”
He added: “They know people no longer respond to rosaries and sermons. That’s why they’ve brought history back to the stage—in a controlled costume. If they can’t erase the past, they’ll try to own it.”
The irony deepened as UNESCO formally recognized Cyrus’s Charter as one of the earliest human-rights documents.
President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X: “Iran, the cradle of dialogue, justice, and coexistence, can still inspire peace today.”
Users swiftly replied, questioning how such pride could coexist with a government that blocks access to Cyrus’s tomb each year to those wishing to visit it on his birthday.
