Tehran — Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei has issued his first public statement since taking office, vowing to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed, threatening to attack US military bases across the Middle East, and promising revenge for every Iranian killed in the conflict.
The statement was read by a state television anchor rather than delivered by Khamenei himself, doing little to quell speculation about his condition and whereabouts.
It was disseminated through a new Telegram channel created by Khamenei’s office and broadcast on Press TV on Thursday four days after his appointment and nearly two weeks after the opening US-Israeli strikes that killed his father, his mother, his wife, and other members of his family.
No video or audio recording of Khamenei accompanied the statement. A still photograph was displayed on screen as the text was read aloud a format that, as reported by CBS News, did little to dispel persistent rumours about his condition.
According to CNN, the statement said Khamenei learned of his own appointment from state television, suggesting he was caught by surprise by the decision of the Assembly of Experts.
Strait of Hormuz Will Remain Closed
The most significant element of the statement was Khamenei’s explicit declaration that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz would continue as a deliberate instrument of war.
“The lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must definitely continue to be used,” he said, as translated by Reuters and reported by CNBC.
Oil prices extended gains following the statement. The International Energy Agency has already released 400 million barrels from strategic reserves the largest such intervention in the agency’s history after global oil supply fell by an estimated 8 million barrels per day since the war began.
Iran had warned on Wednesday that oil prices could climb to $200 per barrel if the closure continues.
US Bases Must Close or Face Attack
Khamenei issued a direct ultimatum to Gulf states hosting American military installations.
“All US bases in the region should be immediately closed or will be attacked,” he said, as reported by Al Jazeera.
He said attacks on US bases would continue, adding that Yemen’s Houthis “will also do the job” and that armed groups in Iraq “want to help” the Islamic Revolution.
The statement also said Iranian officials were studying the possibility of expanding the war into new fronts. “Studies have been conducted regarding the opening of other fronts in which the enemy has little experience and is highly vulnerable,” he said. “Activating them will take place if the state of war continues and if it serves our interests.”
Personal Loss — and a Vow of Revenge
Khamenei linked his personal losses to those of the Iranian public, disclosing that he lost his father, his wife, and members of his extended family in the opening strikes.
“I had the opportunity to visit the former Supreme Leader’s body after his martyrdom. What I saw was a mountain of strength, and I heard that his healthy hand was clenched in a fist,” he said.
He called for patience but made an unambiguous vow of revenge.
“We will not forgo avenging the blood of the martyrs. Every citizen killed by the enemy is a case for vengeance in itself,” he said, as reported by Axios.
“We will receive compensation from the enemy, and if he refuses, we will take as much of his property as we determine, and if that is not possible, we will destroy the same amount of his property,” he added.
According to CNN, Khamenei offered no off-ramp for an immediate end to the conflict and did not elaborate on what an acceptable outcome for Tehran would look like, instead describing revenge as “a file that will remain open.”
Analysts Warn of Instability
Iran analyst Arash Azizi told CNN the statement contained no promise of reform and no indication that Khamenei intends to abandon his father’s core policies, giving “very little hope to Iranians for a better future.”
Suzanne Maloney, vice president and director of the foreign policy programme at the Brookings Institution, said a written statement read by others does not quell concerns about the stability of the new leadership.
“The longer he remains absent from public view, the more concerns there will be about the stability of this new leadership and the regime as a whole,” she said.
Alex Vatanka of the Middle East Institute told NBC News the new supreme leader has no choice but to remain hidden. “He’s being hunted down, essentially,” Vatanka said.
Divided Nation
Middle East analyst Zeidon Alkinani told Al Jazeera that Khamenei’s statement contradicted that of President Masoud Pezeshkian, who on Wednesday suggested Iran would consider ending the war if certain conditions were met.
Despite the call for unity, Iranian society remains sharply divided over Khamenei’s appointment, with economic hardships that fuelled violent protests in December and January still unresolved.
The statement praised what Iran calls the Axis of Resistance, specifically referencing Yemen’s Houthis, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and armed groups in Iraq.
Hezbollah launched its biggest rocket attack against Israel since the start of the war on Thursday. Israeli authorities and Iranian and Lebanese health officials have reported more than 1,300 people killed in Iran, 634 in Lebanon and 12 in Israel, as reported by NPR.
Two oil tankers were struck by projectiles near Iraq’s southern ports on Thursday, Iraqi officials confirmed, in the latest attacks on commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
The statement puts Khamenei’s position in direct conflict with President Trump’s declaration that there is “practically nothing left to target” in Iran and that the war will end soon. Iran’s top security chief Ali Larijani has already threatened to eliminate Trump personally. The IRGC forced through Khamenei’s appointment over clerical and reformist opposition, and analysts have warned he may prove more hardline than his father.
For the latest on the Iran conflict and Operation Epic Fury, visit M10News.com.
This is a developing story. Updates will follow as more facts are confirmed.
