Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei instructed his country’s armed forces to increase their power, with the aim of “scaring off” the enemy, as the country faces heightened tensions with the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Attending a graduation ceremony for national military cadets Khamenei was quoted saying, “Iran and the Iranian nation have resisted America and proven that, if a nation is not afraid of threats by bullies and relies on its own capabilities, it can force the superpowers to retreat and defeat them.” The Islamic Republic’s State Television showed the Iranian supreme leader watching drills by navy cadets and holding a conference video-call with the commander of naval forces of the Islamic Republic’s revolutionary guards in the Gulf of Aden, which leads to the strait of Bab al-Mandeb, an area Tehran threatened to block if Washington would follow through with sanctions against its oil exports, scheduled to take effect early November. The Iranian threat to block the Gulf of Aden brought about warnings from Washington, NATO and other regional powers, vowing to respond with force to any Iranian attempt to block the crucial maritime route; as the Gulf of Aden is considered the most important oil transit channel in the world, with about a fifth of all oil consumed globally passing through on tankers every-day.
