Iran’s New Supreme Leader Vows to Avenge Iranian Casualties and Keep Strait of Hormuz Blocked in New Statement

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who ascended to his position after the death of his father, Ali Khamenei, vowed Thursday to keep blocking the Strait of Hormuz, while also pledging to “avenge the blood of Iranians” killed in the ongoing war.

Speaking out in a statement read on state TV, his first since he assumed the leadership role on Monday, Khamenei said he would not stop “avenging the blood of the martyrs” killed in the conflict — including at a girls’ school in an accidental American strike — and would continue to block the Strait of Hormuz, a key Middle East oil route.

Despite Khamenei’s threats, President Donald Trump maintains that the U.S. is winning the war, saying there is “nothing left to destroy.”

“We have done more damage than we thought possible, even in the original six-week period,” he said.

Trump also threatened this week to hit Iran with a military strike “never seen before” if the country disrupts oil and cargo shipping by laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

Khamenei, 56, has not been seen publicly since assuming the supreme leader role, raising suspicion that he was seriously injured in the blast that killed his father on February 28, the first day of Operation Epic Fury.

Watch above via CNN.

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