Will continue to target US bases, Hormuz will remain shut: Iran Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in his first message

A woman holds a portrait of Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, on the day of a gathering to support Mojtaba Khamenei, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 9, 2026.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on Thursday said the Strait of Hormuz should remain closed as a tool of pressure against Iran’s adversaries and warned that US military bases in the region would face attacks.

In his first public message since being appointed supreme leader following the death of his father, the statement was read out by a presenter on Iranian state television. Khamenei did not appear on camera.

In the message, Khamenei said Tehran should use the strategic leverage of the Strait of Hormuz in its confrontation with the United States and its allies. The narrow waterway is one of the world’s most critical energy routes, carrying about one-fifth of global oil supplies.

Khamenei said that the strait should remain closed as a form of pressure on Iran’s enemies.

He also issued a direct warning regarding the American military presence across the Middle East.

“All US bases should be immediately closed in the region,” Khamenei said in the message, adding that those bases would be attacked.

The remarks come amid escalating hostilities between Iran, the United States and Israel following a series of strikes and retaliatory attacks across the region.

Khamenei also said that Iran would continue retaliatory actions in response to what it calls aggression against the country. In his statement, he vowed that Tehran would not refrain from avenging those killed in the conflict.

"Iran will not refrain from avenging the blood of its martyrs," he said.

The Iranian leader added that the country would pursue compensation from its enemies or target their assets accordingly.

“We will seek compensation from enemies or destroy their assets accordingly,” he said.

Khamenei also vowed to avenge the Iranians killed in the war, including in a strike on a school. He said Iran would “obtain compensation” from its enemy, referring to the United States. If it refuses, Iran will “take from its assets” or destroy them to the same extent, he said.

The warning regarding the Strait of Hormuz is particularly significant because of the waterway’s central role in global energy markets. Roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil shipments pass through the strait, and any disruption could have major economic consequences.

Recent attacks on ships and rising tensions in the Gulf have already raised concerns about the security of the route and the potential for a wider naval confrontation.

Earlier today, Iran warned it could wage a prolonged war with the United States and Israel that would "destroy" the world economy, even as US President Donald Trump said late Wednesday the Islamic Republic was facing imminent defeat.

The defiance from Tehran came as fighting around the strategic Strait of Hormuz -- the waterway carrying a fifth of the world's oil -- sent shock waves through energy markets, prompting emergency releases from global reserves and a limited draw on US stockpiles.

Oil prices have surged since February 28, when the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran that killed its supreme leader and plunged the Middle East into conflict.

Retaliatory Iranian missile strikes and drone attacks have brought shipping through the strait almost to a halt, forcing governments to scramble to contain the fallout, while Trump said Iran was "pretty much at the end of the line."