Iran’s Mojtaba Khamenei threatens to expand war, keep pressure via Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to continue attacks on Gulf Arab states and use the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as leverage against the US and Israel, signalling a wider conflict that has already disrupted global energy supplies
Dubai: Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on Thursday vowed to keep up attacks on Gulf Arab countries and use the effective closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz as leverage against the United States and Israel. It was his first public statement since being chosen to succeed his father, who was killed in an Israeli strike.
Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, who Israel suspects was wounded in the opening salvo of the war, has not appeared in public since then.
Khamenei also called on people in Gulf countries to “shut down” US bases, saying promised US protection is “nothing more than a lie”.
In the statement read by a state TV news anchor, he vowed to avenge those killed in the war, including in a strike on a school that killed over 165 people.
The statement signalled a willingness to continue the war that has disrupted global energy supplies, international travel and the relative safety enjoyed by the Gulf Arab states.
Khamenei did not appear on camera.
Iran’s unrelenting attacks on shipping traffic and energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf had earlier pushed oil back above $100 a barrel.
Both sides dig in as fighting escalates
US and Israeli strikes have exacted a heavy toll on Iran’s leadership, military and ballistic missile program but have failed to topple the government, which US President Donald Trump has at times suggested is his goal.
Iran is trying to inflict enough global economic pain to pressure the United States and Israel to halt their bombardment, which began on Feb. 28. Those strikes killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — Mojtaba’s father — and the younger Khamenei’s wife. Trump has meanwhile promised to “finish the job,” even though he claimed Iran is “virtually destroyed.” He said in a social media post Thursday that ensuring Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon was a higher priority than soaring oil prices.
Iran-backed Hezbollah militants meanwhile launched some 200 rockets from Lebanon at northern Israel while sirens rang out and loud booms from the interception of Iranian missiles could be heard in other areas. Israel launched another wave of attacks on Tehran and in Lebanon, where 11 people were killed.
The UN refugee agency said up to 3.2 million people in Iran have been displaced by the ongoing war. It said most have fled from Tehran and other major cities toward the north of the country or rural areas. Around 800,000 people have been internally displaced in Lebanon, prompting fears of a humanitarian crisis.
Khamenei warns of ‘opening other fronts’
Khamenei’s first statement signalled a continuation of his late father’s strategy in confronting the United States and Israel. He called on Gulf Arabs to “shut down” U.S. bases in the region, saying protection promised by Washington was “nothing more than a lie.”
He also said Iran has studied “opening other fronts in which the enemy has little experience and would be highly vulnerable” if the war continues. He did not elaborate, but Iran has been linked to previous attacks on U.S., Israeli and Jewish targets around the world.
In addition to attacking energy infrastructure across the region, Iran has also effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway leading from the Persian Gulf toward the Indian Ocean through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil flows.The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose another 9% to more than $100 a barrel, up some 38% over what it cost when the war started. Prices have swung back and forth in recent days, at one point surging to around $120 a barrel.
Israel and Hezbollah trade heavy fire
It was a sleepless night for many in Israel and Lebanon as Hezbollah launched some 200 rockets into Israel, according to the Israeli military. Israeli warplanes carried out simultaneous airstrikes on areas in Beirut’s southern suburbs and struck a car near the capital.
“The noise was extraordinary, it was really scary,” said Naama Porat, a resident of the rural Israeli community of Klil, some 15 kilometres (9 miles) from the Lebanese border. As the sound of explosions and interceptions rang out, she dashed with her son to a shelter and spent the night there.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Lebanon that if its government does not prevent Hezbollah from attacking, Israel “will take the territory and do it ourselves.”
Lebanon’s government has ramped up calls for Hezbollah to disarm since the group’s last war with Israel was halted by a 2024 ceasefire, but it has been reluctant to confront the militants directly.
