In his first message since succeeding his father, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei on Thursday vowed to avenge the martyrs of Iran and especially those killed in Minab.
A US strike on a primary school in Minab on the first day of war killed 168 people, including 110 children. “We will not overlook avenging the blood of Iran’s martyrs, especially the martyrs of Minab,” Mojtaba said in a message read out on Iranian state TV.
The new leader of the Islamic Revolution declared that “vengeance is priority ” until fully achieved.”
‘Strait of Hormuz must remain closed’
Iran has warned that it will not allow a single litre of oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route. The Iranian Navy has attacked several commercial vessels trying to cross the Hormuz without Iranian permission.
The Iranian leader said that the country should use the Strait of Hormuz as a lever in the war. “The Strait of Hormuz must remain closed,” he said in the message.
‘US bases in the Gulf region will be attacked’
Mojtaba called on Gulf neighbours to shut the US bases in their countries, saying they will be attacked. He said that the so-called US protection was nothing but a lie. Iran has been targeting the US assets in the region since it began its retaliatory strikes late on February 28.
The new Iranian leader said that his country wants warm and sincere mutual relations with all its neighbours.
“I repeat once again, the Islamic Republic system, without any intention of establishing dominance or colonialism in the region, is fully prepared for unity and warm, sincere mutual relations with all its neighbors,” he said.
However, he reiterated, Tehran will retaliate against enemy attacks. “Should they resist, the Islamic Republic will confiscate their assets to the extent deemed necessary, and if that proves unfeasible, it will destroy an equivalent amount of their property.”
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution also called on the Iranians to remain united in the face of enemy attacks.
Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei was named as Iran’s new Supreme Leader on March 8. He succeeded his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the US- Israeli strikes on the first day of the war on February 28.
Mojtaba was also reportedly injured, though lightly, in the strikes that targeted his father’s office. His mother, wife, and a few other close family relatives were also killed in the US-Israeli attack.