Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei says repeated Iranian strikes have pushed hostile naval forces away from the Strait of Hormuz and toward the Arabian Sea.

Khamenei said waters south of Iran were once a “playground” for enemy forces, but that recent attacks by Iranian forces have made them reluctant to operate beyond the Arabian Sea.

“Whenever they have taken that risk, they have brought harm upon themselves,” he said, predicting that the day was near when the Arabian Sea itself would also be “emptied of them.”

In the same speech, Khamenei portrayed Iran as stronger after months of war and said different sections of Iranian society had rallied around what he described as national rights, including the Strait of Hormuz.