Iran’s new supreme leader vows to attack US bases in Gulf, keep Strait of Hormuz closed
A file photo of new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei
Iran will fight on and keep the Strait of Hormuz shut, new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday in a statement read out on state television, the first remarks attributed to him since he succeeded his slain father.
"A limited amount of this revenge has so far taken concrete form, but until it is fully achieved, this case will remain among our priorities," he said.
In a defiant address, Khamenei said Iran's neighbours should close all United States bases on their territory, which Iran would continue to attack. "I assure everyone that we will not neglect avenging the blood of your martyrs," he told the Iranian people.
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"The popular demand is to continue our effective defence and make the enemy regret! The lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must continue to be used," he said of the shipping route, where a fifth of global oil normally runs past Iran's coast.
"We will seek compensation from the enemy, and if they refuse, we will take as much of their property as we determine, and if that is not possible, we will destroy the same amount of his property," he added.
The new leader also thanked Iran's allies in the region including Lebanon's Hezbollah, Yemen's Houthis and armed groups in Iraq.
"We consider the countries of the Resistance Front our best friends, and the cause of resistance and the Resistance Front are an inseparable part of the values of the Islamic Revolution," he said.
State television offered no explanation for why Khamenei's first remarks were read out by a presenter rather than delivered in a video address. No images have yet been released of him since the strike that killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iranian officials have said the younger Khamenei was lightly wounded. He said in his address that his wife, sister and other family members were also killed.
Tankers ablaze in Iraqi port
Shortly after his address, the Revolutionary Guards announced that, in keeping with his orders, they would keep the strait shut. Two tankers were ablaze in an Iraqi port today after a hit by suspected Iranian explosive-laden boats, a step-up in attacks that have cut off oil from the Middle East.
The attacks were a clear sign of defiance of US President Donald Trump, who said on Wednesday the US had already won the war. Images verified by Reuters as having been filmed from the shore of the port of Basra showed ships engulfed in massive orange fireballs that lit up the night sky. At least one crew member was killed in the attacks.
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Hours earlier, three other ships had been struck in the Gulf. Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed responsibility for at least one of those attacks, on a Thai bulk carrier that was set ablaze, which the Guards said had disobeyed their orders. Another container vessel reported being struck by an unknown projectile near the United Arab Emirates today.
The IRGC later said that at dawn today, in two waves of attack, the IRGC Navy placed the headquarters of the "terrorist American Fifth Fleet at Mina Salman Port under crushing blows from missiles and drones".
It further asserted that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC):
- At dawn today, in two waves of attack, the IRGC Navy placed the headquarters of the terrorist American Fifth Fleet at Mina Salman Port under crushing blows from missiles and drones.
- In this base, the anti-drone Leeds system,… pic.twitter.com/TTNYzVnk5vGlobal energy supplies disrupted
The war that began with a US-Israeli bombing campaign at the end of February has so far killed around 2,000 people and caused what the International Energy Agency describes as the biggest disruption to global energy supplies in history.
Undermining US and Israeli claims to have knocked out much of Iran's stock of long-range weapons, more drones were reported on Thursday flying into Kuwait, Iraq, the UAE, Bahrain and Oman. Lebanon's Hezbollah fired its biggest volley of rockets into Israel of the war, prompting fresh Israeli strikes on Beirut.
Oil prices soared back above $100 a barrel, having come down earlier in the week when Trump said the war would be over soon. Iran has said it will not let oil through the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important energy trade route, until US and Israeli attacks cease.
Trump says 'we won'
Trump has repeatedly tried to calm energy markets this week by saying the surge in oil prices will be short-lived. But he has not explained how the war will end, or presented a plan to reopen the blockaded strait. US and Israeli officials say the aim is to destroy Iran's missile and nuclear programmes, but Trump has also demanded Iran's "unconditional surrender" and the power to determine its leaders.
"You never like to say too early you won. We won," Trump told a campaign-style rally in Hebron, Kentucky, on Wednesday. "In the first hour it was over." But he added: "We don't want to leave early, do we? We got to finish the job."
On Thursday, Trump said the US profited from higher oil prices, but that his priority was stopping Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The US is a net oil exporter but is also the world's biggest oil consumer, burning around twice as much as its peer, the European Union. Economists say sustained high prices would cause broad inflation.
'Security forces are everywhere’
Inside Iran, residents said security forces were increasing their presence on the streets, demonstrating their continued control. "Security forces are everywhere, more than before. People are afraid to come out, but supermarkets are open," teacher Majan, 35, said by phone from Tehran.
Three sources told Reuters that US intelligence indicated that Iran's leadership was still largely intact and not at risk of collapse any time soon. Israel and the US have called on Iranians to rise up and topple their clerical rulers.
But there has been no sign of organised anti-government activity while the country is under attack.
Tehran seeks prolonged economic shocks
Khamenei's remarks reinforce the message from Iran that its strategy now is to impose a prolonged economic shock to force Trump to back off. A spokesperson for Iran's military command said on Wednesday that the world should prepare for oil prices of $200 a barrel.
Thursday's surge in oil prices came despite the announcement the previous day that developed countries would release 400 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves, nearly half from the US. That is by far the biggest-ever coordinated intervention into the oil markets. But releasing the reserves will take months, and account for just three weeks of supply from the blockaded strait.
"The only way to see oil prices trade lower on a sustained basis is by getting oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz," ING analysts said. "Failing to do so means that the market highs are still ahead of us."