Mojtaba Khamenei said that Iran will continue its confrontation with the United States and Israel while keeping the strategically important Strait of Hormuz closed as a form of pressure on its adversaries.
In his first publicly attributed remarks since assuming leadership after the death of his father, former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, Mojtaba Khamenei adopted a defiant tone. He indicated that Iran would continue the conflict and use control over the Strait of Hormuz as strategic leverage.
Iranian officials also stated that ships seeking to transit the waterway must coordinate with Iran’s naval authorities. According to Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei, vessels passing through the strait would be required to communicate with the Iranian navy to ensure what Tehran described as maritime security in the region.
Baghaei argued that the security of the Strait of Hormuz is closely tied to Iran’s own national security. He noted that Iran possesses extensive coastlines along both the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman and has historically borne the burden of maintaining stability in the strategically vital waterway.
At the same time, Khamenei warned neighbouring countries that host American military facilities to close those bases, suggesting that Iran could target them if they continued to support US operations.
Despite the warnings, Iranian officials insisted that Tehran does not intend to permanently destabilise shipping routes. However, they maintained that the tensions created by the United States and Israel could affect maritime traffic through the region.
The renewed threats over the Strait of Hormuz immediately affected global energy markets. Concerns that one of the world’s most important oil transit routes could remain disrupted pushed crude prices back above 100 dollars per barrel after earlier declines driven by hopes of a rapid de-escalation in the conflict.
