In Brief
- Iran must continue to use the "lever" of blocking the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported Mojtaba Khamenei as saying.
- Iran has said it will not let oil back through the strait until US and Israeli attacks cease.
Iran will keep the Strait of Hormuz shut as leverage against the United States and Israel, new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday in the first comments attributed to him since he succeeded his slain father.
Khamenei did not appear in person and the remarks were read out by a state television presenter.
No images have been released of him since an Israeli strike at the start of the war that killed much of his family, including his father and wife.
Thursday’s statement struck a defiant tone, with Khamenei calling on Iran’s neighbours to shut US bases on their territory and warning that Iran would continue to target them.
"I assure everyone that we will not neglect avenging the blood of your martyrs," said the hardline cleric, who is close to Iran's top military force.
"The popular demand is to continue our effective defence and make the enemy regret it. The lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must continue to be used," Khamenei added, referring to the shipping route through which a fifth of global oil normally passes along Iran’s coast.
State television offered no explanation for why the message was read out rather than delivered in person.
Iranian officials have said Khamenei was lightly wounded in the initial 28 February airstrikes by the US and Israel, but the extent of his injuries is unclear.
The prospect that one of the most severe disruptions ever to hit global energy supplies could drag on sent oil prices surging back above US$100 ($141) a barrel, after falling earlier in the week on hopes of a swift end to the conflict.
Uncertainty about the Strait
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said some ships could still pass through if they coordinate with Iran’s navy.
"After the current events, generally we cannot return to conditions before February 28," Baghaei said in comments carried by Mehr news agency, referring to the start date of the war.
Two tankers were ablaze in an Iraqi port after being hit by suspected Iranian explosive-laden boats, a clear sign of defiance toward US President Donald Trump, who said on Thursday the US had already won the war.
Hours earlier, three other ships were struck in the Gulf.
Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes hit a building in central Beirut on Thursday, sending thick smoke above the Lebanese capital.
Israel also ordered residents out of another swathe of southern Lebanon, intensifying its offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after it fired its biggest volley of rockets into Israel since the start of the war.
So far, the war has killed more than 2,000 people, including almost 700 in Lebanon.
Undermining US and Israeli claims to have knocked out much of Iran's stock of long-range weapons, more drones were reported flying into Kuwait, Iraq, the UAE, Bahrain and Oman.
Iran has said it will not let oil back through the strait until US and Israeli attacks cease, but Trump played down the surge in energy prices.
Inside Iran, residents said security forces were increasing their presence to demonstrate continued control.
Three sources told Reuters that US intelligence indicated that Iran's leadership remained largely intact and not at risk of imminent collapse.
Khamenei's remarks reinforced Iran’s message that its strategy now is to impose prolonged economic shock to force Trump to back off.
A spokesperson for Iran's military command said this week the world should prepare for oil prices of US$200 ($282) a barrel.
US energy secretary Chris Wright said on Thursday he did not expect that to happen, but did not totally rule it out.
Oil prices rose Thursday despite the announcement Wednesday that developed countries would release 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves, nearly half from the US.
That is by far the biggest-ever coordinated intervention in oil markets.
But releasing the reserves will take months, and account for just three weeks of supply from the blockaded strait.
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