DUBAI, March 12 (Reuters): Iran will fight on and keep the Strait of Hormuz shut, new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday in a statement read out on state television, the first remarks attributed to him since he succeeded his slain father.
In a defiant address, Khamenei said Iran's neighbours should close all U.S. bases on their territory, which Iran would continue to attack.
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"I assure everyone that we will not neglect avenging blood of your martyrs," he told the Iranian people.
"The popular demand is to continue our effective defence and make the enemy regret! The lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must continue to be used," he said of the shipping route, where a fifth of global oil normally runs past Iran's coast.
State television offered no explanation for why Khamenei's first remarks were read out by a presenter rather than delivered in a video address. No images have yet been released of him since the strike that killed his father, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iranian officials have said the younger Khamenei was lightly wounded. He said in his address that his wife, sister and other family members were also killed.
TANKERS ABLAZE IN IRAQI PORT
Shortly after his address, the Revolutionary Guards announced that, in keeping with his orders, they would keep the strait shut.
Two tankers were ablaze in an Iraqi port on Thursday after a hit by suspected Iranian explosive-laden boats, a step-up in attacks that have cut off oil from ?the Middle East. The attacks were a clear sign of defiance of U.S. President Donald Trump, who said on Wednesday the United States had already won the war.
Images verified by Reuters as having been filmed from the shore of the port of Basra showed ships engulfed in massive orange fireballs that lit up the night sky. At least one crew member was killed in the attacks.
Hours earlier, three other ships had been struck in the Gulf. Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed responsibility for at least one of those attacks, on a Thai bulk carrier that was set ablaze, which the Guards said had disobeyed their orders. Another container vessel reported being struck by an unknown projectile near the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.
