The new supreme leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei, warned today in a message that the Strait of Hormuz will continue to be closed “to put pressure on the enemy.”
“The Strait of Hormuz must remain closed,” Iran’s new highest political and religious authority said in a statement read by a presenter on state television. It is the first after he assumed the position of supreme leader following the offensive launched on February 28 by the United States and Israel.
Khamenei has pointed out that Tehran “will avenge the blood of the martyrs” and has praised the work of the Armed Forces for “blocking the enemy’s path with crushing blows.” According to him, the Iranian forces “have taken away the enemies’ hope of dominating the homeland and possibly dividing it” and has stressed that “the lever of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz must continue to be used”, after the attacks against ships in the area as part of Tehran’s response to the aforementioned offensive.
Khamenei, who spoke in memory of his father and the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ruhollah Khamenei, also highlighted the work of “the fighters of the resistance front”, in reference to the Shiite militia party Hezbollah, the Houthis of Yemen and other pro-Iran militias in Iraq, while has called on the countries in the region to “expel the invaders” from their bases, which will continue to be attacked by Iran.
Just a few minutes before, Khamenei’s office had announced the publication of a “strategic message” focused on “seven important sections”, including “the martyred leader of the Revolution – in reference to Ali Khamenei -, the role and duties of the people, the Armed Forces, executive agencies, the resistance front and the countries of the region, and the fight against enemies.”
Mojtaba Khamenei was named on Sunday by the Assembly of Experts as successor to his father, assassinated on February 28 at the beginning of the aforementioned offensive by the United States and Israel. The attack also killed Ali Khamenei’s wife, Mansuré Jojasté Bagherzadé, and several of his relatives, including his daughter and one of his granddaughters.
The joint offensive has left more than 1,200 dead in Iran to date, according to data published by the authorities of the Asian country. Among the dead, in addition to the supreme leader, are several ministers and senior officials of the Iranian Army, which has responded by launching missiles and drones against Israel and US interests in Middle Eastern countries, including military bases.
