Iran Marks 'Persian Gulf Day' — Mojtaba Khamenei Says New Hormuz Management 'Will Bring Calm'

Iran marked 'Persian Gulf Day' on April 30, 2026 — Day 62 — with Iranian officials publicly asserting control over the Strait of Hormuz as a sovereign right. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued a statement declaring that Iran's 'new Hormuz management will bring calm' to the region — framing Iran's blockade not as an act of war but as a legitimate long-term rearrangement of navigation rights in what Tehran calls its sovereign maritime domain. Iranian President Pezeshkian separately told Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba that Gulf insecurity 'resulted from US and Israeli actions,' seeking to maintain Japan's diplomatic neutrality and continued oil import agreements with Iran. Iran's UN Ambassador Iravani reiterated that the war has cost Iran over $170 billion in economic damage and demanded the US pay reparations. A NCRI report citing the Tehran-based UN Human Rights office noted UN High Commissioner Volker Türk reported 21 executions in Iran since February 28 — 9 tied to anti-government protests, 10 for alleged opposition membership, 2 for espionage — calling the continued executions during wartime 'appalling.' Iran's revised Hormuz peace proposal remained expected to be submitted to Pakistan mediators by May 1.