According to a report by Al Jazeera, on Sunday June 14, 2026, Iran’s supreme leader adviser Ali Akbar Velayati has issued a thunderous warning, declaring that the countdown has ended and military assets are now in active readiness, as Tehran signals an unprecedented escalation in its posture toward Israel and Western-backed forces operating in the region.
“Zero hour has arrived, and the launchers are preparing,” Velayati wrote on X, in a statement that sent shockwaves across international diplomatic channels.
The senior Iranian official attributed the dramatic shift in Tehran’s position to what he described as a calculated miscalculation in Beirut, stating that “a computational error in Lebanon exhausted patience, and the order was issued.”
The remarks from one of Iran’s most powerful political figures mark a significant departure from the cautious messaging that has characterized Tehran’s public posture in recent weeks.
Velayati, who serves as a close confidant to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, appeared to be signaling that Iran’s threshold for direct military engagement had been crossed.
Central to his warning was a stark threat against global trade routes. Velayati warned that if the conflict in Lebanon is not brought under control, Iran’s geographic dominance over two of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints would be weaponized.”If the fire of mischief in Lebanon is not extinguished, the two powerful geographic arms — Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab — will squeeze your economic lifelines to the point of strategic suffocation,” he stated.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes, and the Bab al-Mandab strait connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, represent two of the most economically sensitive waterways on the planet.
Any disruption to either route would send oil prices surging and destabilize global shipping networks almost immediately.
Velayati also reaffirmed Tehran’s unwavering commitment to Hezbollah, describing the Lebanese militant group as “a vital part of the resistance axis” — a network of Iran-aligned forces stretching across Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.