TEHRAN - Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has said that the nations and territories in the West Asia region will no longer serve as "shields" for US military bases, adding that "the hands of time will not turn back", the Iranian media reported on Tuesday.
Khamenei made the remarks in a message carried by Iranian media on the Day of Arafah, the second day of the Hajj pilgrimage.
He said that the Muslim world and regional countries have considerable capacities and common interests that will shape the new order and geometry of the region and the world.
Khamenei called on Islamic states to promote friendship and cooperation to advance the Muslim world and resolve its problems.
"The United States, in addition to not having any safe place for malice and establishment of its military bases in the region, is growing more distant from its former status day by day," he said.
Demand for release of frozen assets
Citing an informed source close to Iran's negotiating team, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency on Tuesday reported that Iran has demanded the release of its frozen assets worth $24 billion during the negotiations with the United States on ending the conflict.
Tasnim said that according to the text of a potential 14-point memorandum of understanding being finalized between Tehran and Washington, Iran's frozen assets must be released during peace talks.
Iran insists that half of the amount must be made available upon the announcement of the MoU and the rest transferred within 60 days, the source added.
According to the source, the Monday visit by Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf to Qatar was aimed at reaching an understanding on the implementation of Iran's demand and ways to provide the country with access to $12 billion worth of its frozen assets in the first step and remove obstacles to that end.
Meanwhile, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency quoted another source close to the Iranian negotiating team as saying that Iran has refused to hold any negotiation unless its preconditions are met, including the release of frozen assets.
US accused of 'flagrant' ceasefire violation
Following US military strikes in southern Iran on Monday, the Foreign Ministry accused the United States of "flagrant violation" of a ceasefire reached between the two countries last month.
The ministry's statement came one day after the US Central Command (CENTCOM) claimed that its forces had struck missile launch sites and mine-laying boats in southern Iran.
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The ministry said that the truce violation committed in Iran's Hormozgan province within the past 48 hours, concurrent with the ongoing Pakistani-mediated diplomatic process between Tehran and Washington, once again revealed the US government's "viciousness and non-commitment to its promises".
US MQ-9 Reaper drone shot down
In a statement posted on its official news outlet Sepah News, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said its air defense forces have shot down an MQ-9 Reaper drone in the country's airspace.
The IRGC warned that it reserves the "legitimate and definitive" right to respond to any violation of the ceasefire reached last month between Tehran and Washington by the "aggressive" US army.
The IRGC said its air defense forces have also detected and tracked an RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance aircraft and an invading F-35 fighter jet, "which had entered Iran's airspace in continuation of the terrorist US army's interventionist adventurism in the region and aggressive behaviors", and forced them to flee by shooting at them.
Meanwhile, the IRGC said 25 vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours under its coordination and security protection.
The IRGC Navy said the vessels, including oil tankers, container ships and other commercial vessels, safely transited the strategic waterway after obtaining authorization.
Iran's commitment to diplomacy
In phone calls with his Egyptian, Turkish, Qatari and Omani counterparts, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has reaffirmed Tehran's commitment to diplomacy to end tensions in West Asia, according to statements published on his office's website on Tuesday.
Pezeshkian expressed Iran's readiness to achieve an "honorable framework" to end the conflict with the United States and Israel, adding that Iran has proven its sincerity in dialogue.
He said serious and expert-level efforts are underway to finalize draft documents for a "comprehensive and fair" agreement.
Internet connectivity restored
Separately, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported that Iran has fully restored international internet connectivity across its telecommunications network.
According to the report, users of fixed broadband services, including FTTH (fiber to the home), VDSL and ADSL, can now access the global internet without restrictions and use international websites and online services normally.
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Iran restricted international internet access on Jan 8 when nationwide demonstrations over economic issues. Tehran blamed the unrest on the United States and Israel.
After weeks of blackout, international internet access was returned to normal for a while, but restrictions were reimposed on Feb 28 when the United States and Israel launched joint attacks on Iran.
Man convicted of spying for Israel executed
Also on Tuesday, Iran executed a man convicted of spying for and intelligence cooperation with Israel, the Mizan news agency of the Iranian judiciary reported.
Identifying the individual as Gholamreza Khani-Shekarab, the report said he was hanged following judicial proceedings and the upholding of his death sentence by the Supreme Court of Iran.
It added that the convict was an "operational ringleader" of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad outside Iran, tasked with recruiting and employing individuals inside the country to carry out anti-security actions. He was arrested by the intelligence forces of Iran's IRGC after being lured into the country in a complicated operation.
