Iran’s New Supreme Leader Vows to Avenge Martyrs, Keep Strait of Hormuz Shut

Mojtaba Khamenei Says US Must Close All Bases in Region

TEHRAN: Iran will avenge the blood of its martyrs, keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and attack US bases, new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday in a statement read out on state television, his first remarks since succeeding his father following his assassination.

In the defiant address, Khamenei said the United States must close all its bases in the region. The strait, which runs past Iran’s coast and supplies a fifth of the world’s oil, should remain shut to put pressure on the enemy, he said.

“The lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must definitely be used,” Khamenei said of the waterway.

Ayatollah Mojtaba vowed to avenge the deaths since the start of the war, saying it would remain among his top priorities.

“A limited amount of this revenge has so far taken concrete form, but until it is fully achieved, this case will remain among our priorities,” Khamenei said in a statement read on state television.

“We will seek compensation from the enemy, and if they refuse, we will take as much of their property as we determine, and if that is not possible, we will destroy the same amount of his property,” he added.

The supreme leader also expressed gratitude to the allied armed groups across the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen and allied groups in Iraq.

“We consider the countries of the Resistance Front our best friends, and the cause of resistance and the Resistance Front are an inseparable part of the values of the Islamic Revolution,” he said.

He also called on regional countries to shut down any US bases that they host.

“I recommend that they close those bases as soon as possible, because they must have realised by now that the claim of establishing security and peace by America was nothing more than a lie,” Khamenei said.

Shortly after his address, the Revolutionary Guards announced that, in keeping with his orders, they would keep the strait shut.

Two tankers were ablaze in an Iraqi port on Thursday after being hit by suspected Iranian explosive-laden boats, a step-up in attacks that have cut off oil from the Middle East.