Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has called for national unity, saying the aggressors’ plans to dominate the country have failed
Iran’s newly appointed supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has said his country will seek restitution from the US and Israel for their ongoing attacks. He warned that in case of refusal, the Islamic Republic will not hesitate to forcibly seize or destroy the aggressors’ assets. Tehran will not be satisfied until it has avenged the “blood of martyrs” killed in the US-Israeli attacks to the fullest extent, Khamenei warned.
Earlier this week, several Western media outlets claimed that the new supreme leader had sustained serious injuries in the initial US-Israeli strikes that killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Italy’s Corriere Della Sera that Khamenei is “injured but fine.”
In a separate statement, the Iranian diplomat accused the European Union of being complicit in the “US and Israeli aggression, brutalities, and atrocities.” Earlier this week, the EU imposed a fresh batch of sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which is now under a de facto Iranian blockade, has decreased sharply since the escalation of the conflict late last month.
In his first public statement, Khamenei warned that the strategically important choke point would remain shut. Against this backdrop, Brent futures soared above the $100 mark on Thursday, with global oil markets remaining highly volatile.
Here are the latest developments as RT continues to bring you up to date:
At least two oil tankers were hit near Iraq’s Umm Qasr port early on Thursday, while the port of Salalah in Oman continued to burn overnight. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain also reported strikes on their oil facilities. Oman evacuated vessels from Mina Al Fahal as a precaution.
US President Donald Trump claimed Iran has been “virtually destroyed,” but said he does not plan to end the campaign early, insisting the Strait of Hormuz remains “in great shape.”
A Pentagon probe into the strike on a primary school in Minab that killed 168 children reportedly found that outdated US targeting data on a nearby IRGC facility likely caused the attack.
The IDF intensified strikes in Lebanon after Hezbollah coordinated attacks with Iran’s IRGC, hitting a Beirut refugee camp. The total death toll in Lebanon now exceeds 634.
Western banks began closing Middle East branches after Iran threatened financial institutions in retaliation for the strike on Tehran’s state-owned Bank Sepah, which handles military and IRGC payrolls.
The FBI has warned the California authorities that Iran planned to launch drone strikes from an unidentified vessel off the West Coast, but local officials have downplayed the alert. Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X: “while we are not aware of any imminent threats at this time, we remain prepared for any emergency.”
Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.
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