Tehran: Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Thursday in his first message to the country, called for continued resistance and said that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed.
In a written message, Mojtaba Khamenei vowed revenge for those killed in the conflict, insisting that Tehran “will not refrain from avenging the blood of its martyrs”.
The message, local media reported, was read by a female presenter on Iranian state television. It also said “the tool of closing the Strait of Hormuz must be preserved” and warned that Iran could open “other fronts, if necessary”.
The message added that Iran seeks friendly relations with neighbouring countries and would target only bases from which attacks are launched against it.
“The message attributed to Khamenei, the Islamic Republic’s third supreme leader, was released without any indication of his whereabouts, health condition or physical status,” Iran International reported.
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was selected as Iran’s new Supreme Leader, after the killing of his father.
Born in 1969, Mojtaba is the second son of Ali Khamenei and has long been a hardliner against the West.
Though he has never held formal office, Mojtaba wields influence through close ties to senior clerics and the IRGC, hence is widely seen as his father’s gatekeeper and successor – effectively a “mini-supreme leader” – and has been sanctioned by the United States since 2019 for representing his father in an official capacity, Xinhua news agency reported.
Experts say he could adopt an even tougher posture toward the United States and Israel than his father did.
The United States and Israel launched surprise airstrikes on Tehran and other Iranian cities on February 28, killing Ali Khamenei, along with some of the leader’s family members, Iran’s senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded through several waves of missile and drone attacks targetting Israel and US assets across the Middle East.
(IANS)
