In his first statement as Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei said Thursday that "we will not give up on avenging the blood of the martyrs" and that "the leverage of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must certainly continue to be used." Against the backdrop of reports that he was wounded in the surprise attack, the statement was read live on Iranian state television. Mojtaba has not been seen since the war began. Simultaneously with the broadcast, Telegram and Twitter accounts were launched in his name, mirroring his father's practice.
In the statement, the younger Khamenei pledged to escalate the war. "You severed the path of the enemy and stripped him of the illusion that he could take control of the homeland – and perhaps even dismember it," he said, adding that Iran was preparing to open new fronts "where the enemy has little experience and is most vulnerable."
Khamenei also threatened neighboring countries hosting American military bases. "I recommend they close those bases promptly, because by now they have surely understood that America's claim of bringing security and peace was nothing but a lie." On the question of vengeance, Khamenei made clear it extends beyond the killing of his father. "Every citizen killed by the enemy is an independent subject in the reparations file," he said, and warned that "in any case, we will take reparations from the enemy, and if it refuses, we will seize its assets, and if that too is not possible, we will destroy its assets to the same extent."
Khamenei claimed he learned of his own appointment at the same time as the Iranian public. "I learned of the result of the vote of the Assembly of Experts (Iran's clerical body that selects and oversees the supreme leader) simultaneously with you, through the television of the Islamic Republic," he said.
"For me, to sit in the place that was the seat of two distinguished leaders – the great Khomeini and the martyred Khamenei – is a heavy thing," he added. Khamenei also said he had seen his father's body after the strike that killed him. "What I saw was a mountain of resolve, and I was told that the fist of his healthy hand was clenched."
Khamenei thanked the Axis of Resistance – led by Hezbollah and the Iraqi militias – which he said had joined Iran's side in the war. "Devoted Hezbollah, despite all obstacles, came to the aid of the Islamic Republic, and the Iraqi resistance too had the courage to follow this path," he said.
Khamenei also praised Yemen, though only in the context of Gaza. "Brave and faithful Yemen did not let up in defending the oppressed people of Gaza," he said – even as the Houthis have not, to date, joined the direct confrontation between Iran and Israel and the US.
Khamenei called on the public to attend the Iranian Al-Quds Day marches on Friday. "The importance of showing up on Al-Quds Day must be in everyone's awareness, and the element of breaking the enemy in it must guide us all," he said.
In the statement, he also addressed the deaths of his family members in the war. "Beyond my father, I have entrusted to the convoy of martyrs my dear and faithful wife, and my devoted sister and also her young child, and my brother-in-law, who was a learned and respected man," he said. Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, has not appeared in public since the war broke out.
According to a report by CNN on Wednesday, he suffered a broken bone in his foot, a contusion to his left eye, and facial lacerations – injuries sustained in the surprise attack in which his father was killed. IDF sources confirmed they assessed that Khamenei was wounded on the first day of the war. His close family members, including his wife, his mother, and one of his sons, were killed in the same strike.
