Newly appointed Iranian leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on March 12 that the Strait of Hormuz must remain closed for leverage and vowed retaliation for Iranians killed in the conflict, according to Iranian state outlet the Islamic Republic News Agency.
Mojtaba Khamenei signaled that Iran would pursue a prolonged campaign of retaliation.
“I assure everyone that we will not refrain from avenging the blood of our martyrs,” he said.
He said that each civilian killed by Iran’s enemies constitutes a separate case for revenge.
The new Iranian leader said some retaliation had already begun but warned that the effort would continue until Tehran considered justice achieved.
“We will be especially sensitive regarding the blood of our children,“ he said. ”Therefore, the crime the enemy deliberately committed against the Shajareh-Tayyebeh school in Minab, and some similar cases, holds a special status in this process of accountability.”
Mojtaba Khamenei emphasized the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes, suggesting that Iran intends to keep pressure on international shipping.
“The lever of closing the Strait of Hormuz must certainly continue to be used as well,” he said.
He said that Iran had studied “opening other fronts in which the enemy has little experience and would be highly vulnerable.”
Military Bases
The new leader issued a stark warning to countries hosting U.S. forces in the region, urging them to shut down military bases used by Washington.“These countries must clarify their position regarding those who have attacked our beloved homeland and killed members of our people,” he said.
He also said that U.S. assurances of security had proven to be “nothing more than a lie.”
Mojtaba Khamenei warned that if compensation were not provided, Iran would seize or destroy enemy assets.
Succession
In the address, Mojtaba Khamenei acknowledged the death of his father and several close relatives in the airstrike that killed the former leader. He said he personally saw the body afterward.“I had the honor of seeing his body after his martyrdom,” he said, describing what he called his father’s steadfastness even in death.
He also confirmed that his wife, one of his sisters, a niece, and his brother-in-law were killed in the same attack. His mother was reported killed earlier in the U.S.–Israeli campaign.
Mojtaba Khamenei said he learned of his own selection as supreme leader from state television, suggesting that the decision was made rapidly amid wartime conditions.
Long seen as a frontrunner, he has maintained a relatively low public profile but wields influence through close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and conservative clerics.
“I was disappointed because we think it’s going to lead to just more of the same problem for the country,” Trump said at a news conference at Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami.
Trump said in a March 12 post on Truth Social that although higher oil prices benefit the United States as the world’s largest producer, his top priority is preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
“Of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is [stopping] an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World,“ he wrote. ”I won’t ever let that happen!”
