Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, elected as Iran's new supreme leader, declared an ultra-hard-line response toward the United States and Israel in his first external message.
Mojtaba Khamenei released his first official statement on the 12th (local time) through state TV, saying, "We must continue to use the leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz as a tool to pressure the enemy (the United States and Israel)." He formalized his intention to hold a strategic chokepoint that carries 20% of the world's crude oil shipments hostage to pressure the West.
In response, the navy commander in chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps emphasized on the social media platform X, "In accordance with the supreme leader's order, we will continue to close the Strait of Hormuz and deliver a fatal blow to the enemy."
Mojtaba also hinted at the possibility of moving beyond a defensive posture to expand the front. He warned, "The review of forming a 'second front' that the enemy has not experienced and is vulnerable to has been completed," adding, "We will activate it immediately depending on the war situation and the national interest."
He then referred to the "Axis of Resistance," the anti-Western armed coalition in the Middle East led by Iran, as the "top-priority ally," and expressed gratitude, saying, "Cooperation within the Axis of Resistance will shorten the path to eliminating the Zionists' (Israel's) evildoings."
To neighboring countries around the Gulf, he justified past attacks while pressing for the closure of U.S. military bases. Mojtaba argued that Iran's recent actions did not target neighboring countries but aimed only at U.S. bases in those states. He then demanded, "Shut down, without delay, the bases that aided those who killed our people."
He also cited damage caused by attacks from the United States and Israel and stressed the intent to retaliate. He said, "We will not avoid retaliation for martyrdom," declaring that counterstrikes would continue.
He confirmed that not only his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but also his wife, sister, and nephew were killed, and he referred to the schoolgirls who died in a bombing at an elementary school in Minab, southern Iran, as martyrs. He then warned, "We must obtain compensation from the enemy. If they refuse compensation, we will seize and crush their asset equally."
Iranian media outlets simultaneously reported under the headline, "The new supreme leader has declared revenge for the blood of martyrs."
Succeeding his father, who was killed in U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on the 28th of last month, as Iran's third supreme leader, he released his first domestic and external message on this day, three days after being elected.
The nationwide message was read by a state broadcaster anchor, and he did not appear in person. Mojtaba was reportedly injured during the airstrikes on the 28th of last month.