Iran’s new supreme leader vows to keep Hormuz shut in defiant first remarks

DUBAI/BEIRUT - Iran will fight on and keep the Strait of Hormuz shut as leverage against the United States and Israel, new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on March 12 in the first comments attributed to him since he succeeded his slain father.

Ayatollah 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.

The March 12 statement struck a defiant tone, with Ayatollah 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,” Ayatollah 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 the Ayatollah was lightly wounded in the initial Feb 28 airstrikes, 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 a barrel, after falling earlier in the week on hopes of a swift end to the conflict.

Tankers ablaze in Iraqi port

There was 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 Feb 28,” Mr 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 a hit by suspected Iranian explosive-laden boats, a clear sign of defiance towards US President Donald Trump, who said on March 11 the US had already won the war.

Images verified by Reuters as filmed from the Iraqi port of Basra showed ships engulfed in massive orange fireballs that lit up the night sky.

At least one crew member was killed.

Hours earlier, three other ships were struck in the Gulf. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed responsibility for at least one attack - on a Thai bulk carrier that was set ablaze. Another container vessel reported being struck by an unknown projectile near the United Arab Emirates.

On another front in the unpredictable war, Israeli airstrikes hit a building in central Beirut on March 12, 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.

As drones fly, Trump says US will benefit

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 Mr Trump played down the surge in energy prices.

“The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money,” Mr Trump wrote on social media, adding that “of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stopping an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons.”

The US is a net oil exporter but also the world’s biggest oil consumer. Economists say sustained high prices would drive broad inflation.

Separately, Mr Trump said the Iranian men’s national soccer team was welcome to participate in the 2026 World Cup, which the US is co-hosting, but added that it was not appropriate that they be there “for their own life and safety”.

‘Security forces are everywhere’

Inside Iran, residents said security forces were increasing their presence to demonstrate continued control.

“Security forces are everywhere, more than before. People are afraid to come out, but supermarkets are open,” teacher Majan, 35, said by phone from Tehran.

Israel said it had struck checkpoints in Tehran of the Basij, the Revolutionary Guard’s voluntary militia.

Three sources told Reuters that US intelligence indicated that Iran’s leadership remained largely intact and not at risk of imminent collapse.

Israel and the US have called on Iranians to rise up and topple their clerical rulers.

Many Iranians want change and some openly celebrated the elder supreme leader’s death on the war’s first day, after his forces had killed thousands of anti-government protesters in January. But there has been no sign of organised dissent while the country is under attack.

Tehran seeks prolonged economic shock

Ayatollah Khamenei’s remarks reinforced Iran’s message that its strategy now is to impose prolonged economic shock to force Mr Trump to back off. A spokesperson for Iran’s military command said on March 11 the world should prepare for oil prices of US$200 a barrel.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on March 12 he did not expect that to happen, but did not totally rule it out. “I would say unlikely, but we are focused on the military operation and solving a problem,” Mr Wright told CNN.

Oil prices rose on March 12 despite the announcement on March 11 that developed countries would release 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves, nearly half from the United States.

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.

“The only way to see oil prices trade lower on a sustained basis is by getting oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz,” ING analysts said. REUTERS