Iran to continue hitting US bases–Khamenei

DEFIANT A poster held by a mourner depicts Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei (right), the successor to his late father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (left), as supreme leader, during the funeral procession for senior Iranian military officials and civilians killed by the US-Israel war against Iran, in Tehran on March 11. —AP

Mojtaba Khamenei said Thursday in his first statement as Iran’s new supreme leader that the Islamic Republic will continue attacks on US bases in neighboring countries, and indicated readiness to keep shut the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping route.

The new leader’s hard-line stance toward the United States and Israel suggests the turmoil in the Middle East, precipitated by the two countries’ coordinated attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, could intensify.

Khamenei vowed to avenge the deaths of those killed in the war, including the well over 100 children reportedly killed in an attack on an elementary school in southern Iran. US media reported that the school was likely hit by a US missile in a strike carried out while relying on outdated intelligence.

He also pledged to seek compensation for the destruction wrought by the US-Israeli attacks.

Mojtaba Khamenei is the second son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint US-Israeli strikes on the first day of fighting. Iran announced the 56-year-old cleric as the slain leader’s successor on Monday.

Khamenei, who was reportedly injured in an attack on Feb. 28 and whose injuries were later confirmed by an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, did not deliver the statement in person. It was instead read out by a presenter on state TV.