Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first address on the war in the Middle East today, saying that Iran must keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and continue attacks on its Arab neighbors in the Gulf as leverage in the conflict, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
“In response to the order of the Supreme Commander, we will deal the heaviest blows to the aggressor, while keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed“, he said in "Ex" Iranian Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri.
In his message, he vowed to avenge the victims of the conflict, Agence France-Presse noted.
“Only a limited part of this revenge has been carried out so far, but until it is completed, this will remain one of our priorities“, he said in a televised speech.
Khamenei also called on people in the Gulf states to “close“ American bases, saying that the promised protection from the United States “is nothing more than a lie“.
The newly elected supreme leader did not appear on camera. Israeli intelligence estimated that he was likely wounded on the first day of the war, when his wife, one of his sisters, his niece and his father, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were killed.
Oil prices reacted to the statement and accelerated their sharp rise.
Amid the ongoing strikes against the Islamic Republic, and Iran's retaliatory attacks on maritime and energy infrastructure in the Gulf with no sign of an end to the war, oil prices have risen above $100 a barrel again.
Meanwhile, Iran has said that it is not mining the Strait of Hormuz and is allowing some ships to pass through.
“This is not true at all”, said Majid Takht-Ravanchi, when asked about US President Donald Trump's statements that "28 Iranian ships were targeted, placing mini“.
Although the passage of ships through the strait has been largely blocked by Iran, he assured that “some countries“ have requested to use it and “we have cooperated with them“.
The Israeli army today carried out strikes again against “Hezbollah“ in Beirut.
The army announced that “a wave of strikes targeting “Hezbollah“ terrorist infrastructure has begun“ in the Lebanese capital, a statement said.
The group said in response that it had fired missiles at air defense systems in the Caesarea area of central Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a residence.
Italy, for its part, announced that it was temporarily withdrawing all its personnel from a military base in Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan, after a drone attack, ending an evacuation that had already begun, the defense and foreign ministers said.
However, US President Donald Trump said that stopping Iran was more important than oil prices.
“The United States is by far the largest oil producer in the world, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money. BUT as president, it is much more important for me to stop the evil empire - Iran - to acquire nuclear weapons and destroy the Middle East, and perhaps the entire world“, the American president wrote on his "Truth Social" platform.