Islamic countries should cut off the vital lifelines to Israel, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei told a group of his regime supporters in Tehran on Tuesday.

“Sometimes, the positions and statements of officials from Islamic countries are mistaken because they talk about issues like the Gaza ceasefire that are beyond their authority and are in the hands of the sinister Zionist enemy. Islamic countries' officials should take action on matters that are within their purview,” the 84-year-old authoritarian ruler said.

Khamenei, a long-time supporter of Hamas and a strong opponent of Israel’s existence, repeated his earlier calls to boycott and blockade Israel. “The matter that is within the reach of officials of Islamic countries is cutting the vital lifelines to the Zionist regime. Islamic countries should sever their political and economic ties with the Zionist regime and refrain from assisting this regime,” he said.

Khamenei called for a blockade of Israel on November 1, 2023, weeks after the Hamas invasion of Israel and the start of the Gaza war. Two weeks after his call, Iran’s Houthi proxies in Yemen began firing missiles and drones at commercial vessels sailing in the Red Sea area, claiming that they were targeting ships headed for Israeli ports or affiliated with Israel.

The Houthi attacks have continued, disrupting commercial maritime traffic in the vital waterway. The United States and some of their allies have formed a naval coalition to protect shipping. US and UK have attacked Houthi military position in Yemen several times to degrade their ability to fire missiles and drones.