New Supreme Leader of Iran Mujtaba Khamenei vowed on Thursday to continue strikes against US military bases in the region and maintain the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, in his first message since assuming office. He further claimed the Iranian armed forces had successfully “thwarted plans to partition Iran.”Addressing neighbouring states, Khamenei said Iran shares land or sea borders with 15 countries and has always desired good relations. However, he alleged that “the enemy” has established military and financial bases in some of these countries to ensure regional hegemony. “In the recent aggression, some of those bases were used, and therefore we targeted only the bases without attacking the countries themselves,” Khamenei said. Flows through the Strait of Hormuz, which handled 20m bpd of crude and products last year, have collapsed by more than 90%.

Source: Daily News Egypt March 13, 2026 00:44 UTC