In a statement posted on his Telegram channel on Tuesday, Khamenei said Gulf states and territories would no longer “serve as a shield” for US forces, adding that Washington would be unable to establish or maintain military bases safely in the region.

“The hands of time do not turn back, and the nations and territories of the region will no longer serve as a shield for American bases. America will no longer have a safe haven for evil or for establishing military bases in the region,” he said.

The remarks come as Tehran and Washington continue discussions on a possible framework to end their three-month-long conflict.

Separately, in a message marking the Hajj season, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said the “shaky Zionist regime and the cancerous tumour of ‘Israel’ is approaching its final days.”

Mojtaba Khamenei became Iran’s supreme leader in March following the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli air strikes.