TEHRAN — Majtaba Khamenei has said that countries in the region should no longer serve as “shields for US military bases,” according to a written message broadcast by Iranian state television.

In the message, issued on the occasion of the Hajj pilgrimage and read on state media, he said: “What is clear is that the hands of time do not turn back, and the nations and lands of the region will no longer be shields for American military bases.” He added that the United States would no longer provide a safe point for the establishment and support of military bases in the region, and was “increasingly moving away from its former position.” He also said that the “Zionist regime and the cancerous tumour of Israel are approaching the final stages of their existence,” according to the statement. The message further cited earlier remarks by Ali Khamenei, saying that Israel “will not see 25 years from that date.”