Iran's new supreme leader vows revenge on U.S., Israel
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A demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's new supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran on March 9. Photo: Arezoo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images
Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in his first public message that his country will take revenge for the ongoing U.S. and Israeli attacks.
Why it matters: Khamenei warned that attacks on U.S. military bases in the region would continue if they aren't shut down and stressed Iran will maintain its leverage by continuing to close the Strait of Hormuz.
- "We will not forgo avenging the blood of the martyrs. Every citizen killed by the enemy is a case for vengeance in itself," he said.
- Khamenei's message, read on Iranian state television without an accompanying video or photo, is an attempt by the regime to project control and reconstitute as it remains under bombardment.
Driving the news: In the message, Khamenei laid out his strategy for the next steps in the war.
- He said Iran is looking at opening new fronts in the war "where the enemy has little experience and is highly vulnerable."
- He thanked Iran's regional proxies — Hezbollah in Lebanon, the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen — for their support and said that cooperation between Iran and the other members of the "axis of resistance" will undermine the U.S. and Israeli war efforts.
- His comments foreshadowed the possibility that the Houthis could soon join the war.
Catch up quick: Mojtaba Khamenei succeeded his father as Iran's supreme leader after the elder Khamenei was killed at the start of the war.
- Israeli officials told Axios Mojtaba Khamenei was in the compound that was attacked on the first day of the war. While his father, mother, wife and daughter were killed, he was wounded but survived, the officials said.
- He hasn't been seen in public since.
The big picture: Khamenei also addressed the Gulf countries that Iran has attacked since the beginning of the war.
- He said Iran wants good relations with all of its neighbors, but stressed U.S. bases in several countries in the region were used for attacks against Iran.
- "Therefore — as we explicitly warned in advance — we struck only those bases, without harming the countries themselves. In the future, we may be compelled to continue doing so," he said.
- Iran has fired roughly 2,500 missiles and drones at the Gulf countries, many of them hit civilian targets like hotels, residential building and energy infrastructure.
- Khamenei demanded the Gulf countries close U.S. bases in their territory "as soon as possible" and claimed their continued presence didn't provide any security.
What to watch: Khamenei said that after the war Iran will demand that the U.S. and Israel pay compensation.
- If they refuse, he said, "Iran will seize property from them or destroy property of equivalent value."
Editor's note: This story was updated with additional information from Khamenei's message.
