Iran will avenge the blood of its martyrs, keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and attack U.S. bases, new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday (March 12) in a statement read out on state television, his first remarks since succeeding his slain father.
In the defiant address, Khamenei said the United States must close all its bases in the region. The strait, which runs past Iran's coast and supplies a fifth of the world's oil, should remain shut to put pressure on the enemy, he said.
The war that began with a U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign at the end of February has so far killed around 2,000 people and caused what the International Energy Agency describes as the biggest disruption to global energy supplies in history.
Undermining U.S. and Israeli claims to have knocked out much of Iran's stock of long-range weapons, more drones were reported on Thursday flying into Kuwait, Iraq, the UAE, Bahrain and Oman.
Trump has repeatedly tried to calm energy markets this week by saying the surge in oil prices will be short-lived.
But he has not explained how the war will end, or presented a plan to reopen the blockaded strait. U.S. and Israeli officials say the aim is to destroy Iran's missile and nuclear programs, but Trump has also demanded Iran's "unconditional surrender" and the power to determine its leaders.
