ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq — Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday said his country did not have any regional proxy groups to fight on their behalf, warning that if they chose to “take action,” they would take matters into their own hands. 

"The Islamic Republic does not have a proxy force,” Khamenei told a group of visitors in Tehran, according to state-run IRNA. "Yemen fights because it has faith. Hezbollah fights because the power of faith draws it into the field. Hamas and the [jihadists] fight because their beliefs compel them to do so. They do not act as our proxy.”

Khamenei’s comments came two weeks after their key regional alley Bashar al-Assad lost power in Syria following a lightning offensive led by rebel groups and a year after other allies - Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon - suffered significant damages to their leadership and manpower in their wars with Israel, Tehran’s archfoe. 

"They [the US] keep saying that the Islamic Republic has lost its proxy forces in the region. This is another mistake," he said, adding "If one day we want to take action, we do not need a proxy force.”

In parts of the speech, Khamenei said groups operating under the axis of resistance will remain united in their strong opposition against Israel and the US. 

The axis of resistance includes Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Palestine, multiple Shiite militia groups in Iraq, and Houthis in Yemen. 

The top Iranian authority also accused the US of planning to cause unrest and chaos in his country. 

"The Iranian nation will trample under its strong feet anyone who accepts America's mercenary role in this regard," he said.