Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vows vengeance in fiery first statement
NBC News
Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, broke his silence Thursday after four days of rumors that he had been injured in an airstrike.
Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, issued a fiery first public statement Thursday, vowing to keep blocking the vital Strait of Hormuz oil trade route and attacking neighboring countries that host U.S. military bases.
The written statement was one of defiance, even as President Donald Trump indicates that he would like to wrap up the conflict soon as global energy markets face an economic shock from the strait's closure.
The health and current whereabouts of the new leader, 56, are still both unclear, after Iranian state TV previously indicated he had been wounded in the wave of U.S. and Israeli strikes that killed his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, and several of their relatives.
Even on Thursday, state TV offered no explanation for why Khamenei did not appear in person, with only a written statement attributed to him read out by an announcer.
Israel has previously indicated it would target anyone appointed to succeed the slain elder Khamenei, and experts suggest the written statement poses less security risk to the new supreme leader than a public appearance or a video message from a potentially identifiable location.
The International Energy Agency siad member countries had unanimously agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from their reserves
Follow live NBC News coverage and latest updates on the Iran war, as the U.S. and Israel launch strikes and Tehran aunches its 'most intense strikes' to date.
Follow live NBC News coverage and latest updates as the Iran war hits oil prices, Iran vows to block the Strait of Hormuz and Israel strikes Tehran and Lebanon.
Thick black smoke billowed into the sky, making day seem more like night.
Mojtaba Khamenei has been named as Iran’s new supreme leader just over a week after his father, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes
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Follow live updates and the latest news coverage as the U.S. and Israel strike Iran, Tehran hits back across the Gulf and Americans are stranded in the Middle East.
Since the U.S. and Israel launched attacks across Iran last weekend, the Islamic Republic has retaliated by firing missiles and drones across the region, striking Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and other countries.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday that his country is ready for a ground invasion by American troops as the war launched by the United States and Israel has quickly spread across the region.