Iran's supreme leader, in first remarks, vows to avenge martyrs, keep strait closed

Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mujtaba Khamenei declared that all U.S. military bases in the region must immediately close or face direct attack.

In his first public statement since succeeding his slain father, Khamenei ordered the Strait of Hormuz to remain closed.

He commanded Iranian forces to utilize all available resources to enforce and expand the blockade on the waterway that supplies one-fifth of the world’s oil.

Khamenei further instructed action against every vulnerable area belonging to the enemy.

The statements were read on state television Thursday.

Two tankers were set ablaze in Iraq’s Basra port by suspected Iranian explosive boats, killing at least one crew member.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed responsibility for striking additional ships in the Gulf.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah fired its largest rocket volley of the war into Israel.

Oil prices have surged back above $100 per barrel.

The Hormuz closure has triggered the largest disruption to global energy supplies in history.