Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is warning of a "new chapter" in the fight for control of the Strait of Hormuz, as the vital waterway remains closed to the vast majority of shipping traffic.

In a statement from Khamenei read by an anchor on Iranian state television and reported by The New York Times, the supreme leader vowed to eliminate "the enemy's abuses" of the waterway, and asserted that "new management of the strait will bring comfort and progress for the benefit of all nations of the region." He went on to emphasize that Iran will continue to guard its "modern technological capacities," including its nuclear and missile capabilities.

“By the will and power of God, the bright future of the Persian Gulf region will be a future without America,” he said. 

Khamenei stressed that Iran has no intention of relinquishing control of the Strait of Hormuz, and that the country plans to implement new legal frameworks for managing the waterway moving forward. This comes as President Donald Trump has threatened to keep a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports in place for months. With Iran and the U.S. now implementing dual blockades of the strait, shipping traffic through the area — Iranian or otherwise — has come to a virtual standstill.

Trump had recently rejected a proposal from Iran to reopen the strait, which would have imposed tolls on tankers, while setting aside talks over Iran's nuclear program and enriched uranium stores. Iran has repeatedly insisted that any plan to reopen the strait should allow it to impose fees on ships transiting the waterway.