In a post on his X account on Friday, Velayati reacted to the recent US-PGCC joint statement targeting Iran, presenting a strongly worded assessment of regional dynamics, Iran’s historical role in the Strait of Hormuz, and the shifting balance of power in West Asia.
“The stability of Persian Gulf Arab states is indebted to Iran's century-long management of the Strait of Hormuz. The West has brought nothing to the region but plunder and violence,” he said.
“These political minors of the periphery should not be comforted by commissioned statements. Know this: your survival feeds off the scraps of this table,” Velayati added.
“In the great realignment, peripheral minor players have no seat at the table. They are eliminated, and their strategic survival is at the mercy of Tehran's tolerance,” he warned.
The remarks came in reaction to a joint statement issued by the US Secretary of State and foreign ministers of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) that contained critical positions on Iran.
In a statement on Friday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the “interfering, irresponsible and provocative” joint statement, warning against continued hostile behavior in the region.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran dismissed Washington’s claim of a “sustained commitment to the security of PGCC member states” as “nothing more than rhetoric and distortion of reality,” arguing that the US military presence in the region has instead become “a burden on the peoples of the region and a source of insecurity and division.”