Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, on Thursday signalled defiance to United States Donald Trump in his first remark after assuming Iran's top post, saying that the Strait of Hormuz must remain closed.
Khamenei directed closing the chokepoint in the Gulf as it grants leverage to Iran against the US. He added that the attacks on Middle East neighbours will continue.
"I assure everyone that we will not neglect avenging the blood of your martyrs," he told the Iranian people. "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.
The statement follows an escalatory tone, days after Trump warned Iran to hit twenty times harder if it stops the flow of oil within the Strait of Hormuz. Mojtaba Khamenei's statement was read by a news anchor on state television as he himself did not appear on camera.
Mojtaba also warned that if US military bases remain operational in the Middle East, they could be attacked. "All US bases should be immediately closed in the region," he said.
Mojtaba also pledged to avenge the Iranian people and leaders killed in the war, claiming that Tehran would "obtain compensation" from its enemy. He warned that if the "enemy" refuses to do so, Tehran will "take from its assets" or destroy them to the same extent.
He said that this will remain the case until full revenge is taken. He said, "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".
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The state TV gave no explanation as to why Mojtaba Khamenei's first statement was read out by a narrator and not by himself. In fact, no picture of him has been released since the day one of the war.