Iran’s new leader says Strait of Hormuz to remain closed
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The news: In his first public comments since succeeding his father, Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said the Strait of Hormuz should remain closed as a “tool to pressure the enemy,” in televised comments translated by Reuters.
Khamenei said that all US military bases in the Middle East should closed immediately and that “those bases will be attacked.”
The statement, read out by an Iranian state television broadcaster, is the first to be made by the new ruler who was injured in the same attack which killed his father, the ayatollah, and other family members.
“Iran will not refrain from avenging the blood of its martyrs,” Khamenei said.
Prior to Khamenei’s statement, US President Donald Trump played down concerns over oil via a post on Truth Social: “The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money. BUT, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stoping an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World,” Trump wrote.
The price of Brent crude lifted on the comments, edging closer to its earlier session high of over USD100 per barrel.
The comments come after US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC on Thursday that the US Navy is not yet ready to being escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
“We’re simply not ready. All of our military assets right now are focused on destroying Iran’s offensive capabilities and the manufacturing industry that supplies their offensive capabilities,” Wright said, adding that the escorts could begin by the end of this month.
The sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, Reuters, Trump Truth Social
