Words of defiance: Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei lashes at US

DEVELOPING STORY, The newly appointed supreme leader delivers a combative statement, pledging Iran will keep fighting.Published On 12 Mar 2026Mojtaba Khamenei has issued his first statement since taking over as Iran’s supreme leader after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several family members were assassinated in United Sates and Israeli strikes at the outset of the war that has now embroiled much of the Middle East.In the statement, which was read on state TV on Thursday, Khamenei called for national unity and said the vital global artery of the Strait of Hormuz would continue to be closed to pressure Iran’s enemies.He added that all US bases in the region should be immediately closed or will be attacked. While Iran believes in friendship with its neighbours, Khamenei said, attacks on US bases in the region would continue.Armed groups in Yemen “will also do the job”, the supreme leader said, adding that those in Iraq also “want to help” the Islamic revolution.Khamenei thanked Iran’s military, which he said had stopped it from being dominated or divided as it came under attack.“I would like to thank the brave fighters who are doing a great job at a time when our country is under pressure and under attack,” he said and pledged that Iran would continue fighting.Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran for 37 years, was killed in Tehran on February 28.Iran’s Assembly of Experts reached a consensus on Sunday to appoint his son as his successor.Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from Tehran, said the new supreme leader indicated that he would use the Strait of Hormuz as leverage and possibly ramp up the intensity of this conflict.