New Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has said Iran should continue ‘blocking the Strait of Hormuz’ in his first statement since his election, read out on Iranian State television on Thursday (12 March).
Khamenei, who is still yet to appear in public, told Iranians, "we will not forgo revenge for the blood of your martyrs” who have been killed in the conflict with the U.S. and Israel in the statement, which was read out by a presenter.
The price of oil rose to over $100 a barrel on Thursday as attacks on sea traffic in the Strait of Hormuz escalated. At least six ships have now been targeted in the vital sea passage, which lies between the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.
In the statement, Khamenei also demanded the U.S. close its regional military bases, which have been used to launch attacks on Iran.
“I advise that they shut down 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 but a lie,” he said.
Khamenei said Tehran would continue striking American bases in the region, while striving to avoid hitting the nations hosting such bases.
But he added: "These countries must clarify their stance regarding the aggressors against our dear homeland and the murderers of our people."
The statement began with a tribute to his father, former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S.-Israel airstrikes on 28 February.
"I had the privilege to visit his body after his martyrdom. What I saw was a mountain of solidity, and I heard that his remaining sound fist was clenched,” Khamenei said.
The 56-year-old added that he found out about his appointment as new Supreme Leader by the Assembly of Experts at the same time as the public via television.
Following in the footsteps of his father Khamenei and Iran’s first Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini was a "difficult task," he added.
But Khamenei said he was inspired by the resolve the Iranian people had shown in the days after his father’s death. The Iranian people had shown “steadfastness, bravery, and presence,” during the period when Iran was without a leader, he said.
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Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, two key maritime chokepoints in the region, decreased significantly from the previous day, according to shipping data.
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