Defiant note by Iran

2026-03-13 - 22:13

IRAN will fight on and keep the Strait of Hormuz shut as leverage against the United States and Israel, new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday in the first comments attributed to him since he succeeded his slain father. Khamenei did not appear in person and the remarks were read out by a state television presenter. No images have been released of him since an Israeli strike at the start of the war that killed much of his family, including his father and wife. The message of the new leader highlights two issues – one he is safe and sound capable of discharging his national responsibilities in the backdrop of reports he suffered injuries; and two his country has a resolve to continue to fight back the enemy. In the defiant address, Khamenei said the United States must close all its bases in the region, which will continue to be legitimate targets during the war. He also urged the regional countries to ‘close those bases as soon as possible, because they must have realized by now that the claim of establishing security and peace by America was nothing more than a lie’. The tone and tenor of the address clearly showed that the United States and Israel have miserably failed to break the resolve of the Iranian people despite the worst kind of bombing and targeting of schools, civilian population and economic infrastructure besides military installations. Instead the new leader has talked of opening new fronts and avenging the blood of martyrs. He reiterated the demand of Iran for war reparations and “if they refuse, we will take as much of their property as we determine, and if that is not possible, we will destroy the same amount of his property”. Similar warnings were also given by other top leaders of Iran in response to threats by the United States and Israel to target Iran’s electricity system and occupy Kharg Island (producing much of Iranian oil). Iranian security chief Ali Larijani and powerful parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf have warned that their country, in retaliation, will hit regional power grids and abandon its restraint. The world in general and the countries of the region in particular are already suffering hugely because of the war imposed on Iran by the United States and Israel on baseless accusations and the world cannot afford to deepen the crisis further.