Iran’s newly appointed supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei has called for the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz and warned that American military bases in the region could face attacks, marking a hardline stance in his first public remarks since assuming office.
In a statement broadcast on Iranian state television, Khamenei said the strategic waterway should remain blocked as part of Iran’s leverage in the ongoing conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
“All US bases should be immediately closed in the region otherwise they will be attacked,” Khamenei said in the message, which was read out by a television presenter rather than delivered by him directly.
He has not appeared publicly since his appointment as the country’s highest authority.
Threats against US military presence
Khamenei said Iran would seek compensation for the war and warned that the country could target American assets if its demands were not met.
“We will take war reparations from the enemy for the war it imposed on us. If the enemy refuses, we will seize as much of its assets as we deem appropriate; and if that is not possible, we will destroy an equivalent amount of its property,” he said.
His remarks came amid escalating hostilities in the Gulf region and rising concerns about attacks on energy infrastructure and shipping routes.
Hormuz as strategic leverage
The new Iranian leader described the Strait of Hormuz as a key leverage point in the conflict.
The narrow maritime passage linking the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman is one of the world’s most important energy corridors, carrying a large share of global oil shipments.
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Khamenei said the “lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz” should continue to be used by Iran in its confrontation with its adversaries.
At the same time, he said Tehran remained committed to maintaining cooperative relations with neighbouring countries but warned them against hosting American forces.
“We believe in friendship with neighbours and only target the bases, and we will inevitably continue,” he said.
Vow of retaliation
Khamenei also vowed retaliation for the deaths of Iranian civilians in the conflict, including those killed in a strike on a school in the southern Iranian city of Minab.
According to Iranian authorities, a missile attack destroyed a girls’ school in the city, killing at least 168 people, including around 110 children.
“We do not only intend to avenge the blood of our martyred leader, but we will also avenge the blood of every Iranian martyred in this war,” he said.
Khamenei, the son of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, assumed power after his father was killed in joint US–Israeli strikes on February 28.
He also thanked Iran’s allied armed groups in the region, saying forces aligned with the “resistance” in Yemen and Iraq would continue to play a role in the conflict.
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