Addressing a gathering of worshippers here in Tehran on Friday, Tehran's Provisional Friday Prayers Leader Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari stated that the US and Israeli enemies intended to keep the war against the Islamic Republic purely military, but Iran, utilizing the capacity of the Strait of Hormuz, expanded the conflict into the realm of global economy.
While the enemies aimed to confine the war within Iran’s borders, as late Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei had said, Iran extended the war to the region to create a regional battle, the cleric stated.
Haj Ali Akbari also mentioned that, at a time when the enemies were negotiating with Iran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Iran, in cooperation with Yemen’s Ansarullah, was designing plans to close Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.
He stated that imperialism sought to create discord within Iranian society, but now millions of American people are protesting against US President Donald Trump in their own society.
The Friday Prayers leader also emphasized that the “empire of heresy, arrogance, polytheism, and hypocrisy” has become bankrupt, exhausted, and desperate in the face of the steadfast will of the faithful Iranian nation, to the extent that it withdrew its 15-point proposal and received Iran’s 10-point text through an intermediary neighbor.
Condemning the Zionist regime’s military attacks on Lebanon, he added that, of course, the dear Lebanese people and Hezbollah are responding. He reminded the Resistance Front, especially the dear people of Lebanon, that if the enemy persists in its attacks, the powerful blows of Iran’s Armed Forces will be delivered upon it.
He clarified that the narrative of victory for the great Iranian nation is included in Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Khamenei’s message, stressing that the hands are on the trigger and the Iranian Armed Forces are rearming under the command of a wise and vigilant Leader.
The US and the Israeli regime launched a large-scale unprovoked military campaign against Iran following the assassination of then Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, along with several senior military commanders and civilians on February 28.
In retaliation, Iranian Armed Forces launched attacks on American and Israeli positions in the region, demonstrating their capability to strike back effectively. Despite initial expectations by the attackers of a swift victory, the Iranian response proved significantly more potent, inflicting heavy damage on US and Israeli military resources while rallying the nation's unity and resistance.
While the US president had issued an ultimatum, Pakistani mediation facilitated an agreement for a two-week ceasefire during which negotiations would take place in Islamabad. Iran has proposed a ten-point plan as the foundation for discussions, seeking terms such as the withdrawal of US forces from the region, lifting sanctions, and establishing control over the Strait of Hormuz.
The Supreme National Security Council of Iran emphasized on April 8 that the aggression led to a historic victory for Iran, compelling the US to accept negotiation terms, including a plan for guaranteed non-aggression and the cessation of hostilities.
Iran has stressed that the negotiations would not signify an end to the conflict but rather an extension of the battlefield into diplomatic efforts, with a clear stance of distrust towards the US.