Mojtaba Khamenei Breaks Silence in Longest Statement Yet — Vows No US Military Bases in Region

Iran's reclusive new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued his longest public message since taking power in March 2026, delivered via state-run television without appearing in public. The statement — his most extensive since succeeding his father Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the February 28 US-Israeli strikes — praised what he called the 'Resistance Front' across the region and declared that US military bases would have no place in the Middle East as a condition of any peace settlement. Khamenei referenced Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel as a 'storm of Aqsa,' reaffirming the Islamic Republic's unwavering commitment to the Palestinian cause. The statement came as Iranian negotiators were simultaneously engaged in talks with Qatari intermediaries in Doha on a possible peace framework. International media had previously reported that Mojtaba Khamenei had been severely injured during the February strikes and required extensive surgery, though Tehran has not acknowledged the reports. The statement signaled that the new Supreme Leader, despite his absence from public view, would maintain hardline ideological positions while allowing diplomatic negotiations to proceed on a parallel track.