Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Army, Major General Amir Hatami, stated that U.S. President Donald Trump had committed a “grave mistake” by declaring his desire to annex the Strait of Hormuz to the United States, considering that his subsequent retraction and description of the statement as a “joke” did not diminish its seriousness.

Hatami affirmed that Iran had practically begun implementing the decision to expel U.S. forces, stressing that U.S. forces would no longer be permitted to enter the Gulf, the Sea of Oman, or the Strait of Hormuz.

He said Iran would not allow U.S. bases to return to their previous status, adding that “Iran’s defenders will crush whoever approaches it,” and stressing that any U.S. mistake would make the United States “a lesson for others throughout history.”

Speaking about the Strait of Hormuz, Hatami described the strait as a “divine gift to the Iranian people,” affirming that it “will not return to what it was before,” and that Iran would defend it with all its might and under the orders of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

He considered any price Iran might pay to preserve the strait to be “worth the effort,” noting that Hormuz had become one of the fundamental conditions for ending the war in a manner that would completely remove its threat from Iran.

Hatami also pointed out that among the U.S. president’s “achievements” was the activation of capabilities that Iran had been aware of in the Strait of Hormuz, considering that these capabilities would not have been activated had it not been for the confrontation.

He added that anyone who captures or kills an American soldier engaged in aggression and turns him over will receive a reward of $30,000.

The General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces had also affirmed earlier today, Sunday, that it would not back down from the demands of the Iranian people and leadership in confronting the United States, until the “enemy’s surrender.”

This comes amid a fragile truce between Iran and the United States, following the U.S.-Israeli aggression against Iran that erupted on February 28, and as the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and coastlines continues.