Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei vows continued retaliation and signals the Strait of Hormuz could remain a strategic tool against global shipping.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Iran’s newly installed supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, issued his first major statement on March 12, declaring that Tehran intends to continue retaliatory actions against its enemies and suggesting the closure of the Strait of Hormuz should remain a strategic tool.
In remarks reported by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Khamenei said the key maritime passage should be used as leverage during the ongoing conflict.
“The lever of closing the Strait of Hormuz must certainly continue to be used as well,” Khamenei said in the written address.
The message marked his first major public statement since he was chosen to succeed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S.–Israeli strikes on Feb. 28 targeting Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure.
Khamenei’s statement was delivered in writing rather than appearing on camera. Israeli officials said on March 11 that he may have suffered a leg injury during the strikes that hit his father’s bunker.
The new leader signaled that Iran plans to pursue a prolonged campaign of retaliation for casualties suffered during the conflict.
“I assure everyone that we will not refrain from avenging the blood of our martyrs,” he said, adding that each civilian death attributed to Iran’s enemies would be treated as a separate case requiring retaliation.
He said the process had already begun but warned that the effort would continue until Tehran believes justice has been achieved.
“We will be especially sensitive regarding the blood of our children. 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,” he said.
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, is considered one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints. Roughly one-fifth of global oil shipments pass through the route each day.
Khamenei suggested that Iran could also pursue additional strategies in other areas of conflict.
He said Tehran had examined “opening other fronts in which the enemy has little experience and would be highly vulnerable.”
In the statement, Khamenei praised Iranian forces for what he described as resisting foreign aggression and blocking enemy advances.
He thanked fighters who had “blocked the enemy’s path with their powerful blows” and prevented attempts to dominate or divide the country.
The new leader also issued a warning to countries hosting U.S. military installations in the region, urging them to shut down those bases.
“These countries must clarify their position regarding those who have attacked our beloved homeland and killed members of our people,” he said, adding that U.S. security guarantees had proven to be “nothing more than a lie.”
Khamenei warned that if compensation was not provided for damages or casualties, Iran could move against foreign assets.
“If it refuses, we will take from its assets to the extent we deem appropriate, and if that is not possible, we will destroy its assets to the same extent,” he said.
In the address, Khamenei also acknowledged the death of several family members during the airstrike that killed his father.
“I had the honor of seeing his body after his martyrdom,” he said.
He confirmed that his wife, a sister, a niece, and his brother-in-law were killed in the same strike, while his mother had reportedly been killed earlier in the U.S.–Israeli campaign.
Khamenei said he learned he had been selected as supreme leader while watching state television, suggesting the decision by Iran’s Assembly of Experts was made quickly amid wartime conditions.
The 56-year-old cleric was formally chosen on March 8 by the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member clerical body responsible under Iran’s constitution for selecting the country’s supreme leader.
Although he has maintained a relatively low public profile, Mojtaba Khamenei has long been viewed as a potential successor due to his close ties with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and conservative religious leadership.
President Donald Trump commented on the leadership transition earlier this week, saying he was disappointed with Iran’s choice.
Speaking during a press conference at Trump National Doral on March 10, Trump said the selection suggested Iran’s policies may remain unchanged.
“I was disappointed because we think it’s going to lead to just more of the same problem for the country,” Trump said.
In a March 12 post on Truth Social, Trump reiterated that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons remains the primary objective of the U.S. campaign.
“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,” Trump wrote. “I won’t ever let that happen!”
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