Iran’s new Supreme Leader vows to keep up attacks; says Hormuz Strait to stay closed

Iran’s new supreme leader ordered the vital Strait of Hormuz oil shipping lane to remain closed on Thursday (March 12, 2026), while U.S. President Donald Trump said stopping the Islamic republic’s “evil empire” was more important than crude prices.

Also read: West Asia war updates on March 12, 2026

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who was reportedly injured in an air strike, has yet to appear publicly since his nomination last Sunday as supreme leader, and his defiant message was read by a newsreader on state television.

Mr. Khamenei’s father, Ali Khamenei, was killed in the first wave of U.S.-Israeli attacks at the start of the West Asia war. He called for the Strait of Hormuz to remain blocked and for Gulf countries to close their U.S. military bases.

The statement included a vow to avenge those killed in the war, including in a strike on a school that killed over 165 people.

The statement signalled a willingness to continue the war that has disrupted global energy supplies, international travel and the relative safety enjoyed by the Gulf Arab states, and which has also exacted a heavy toll on Iran’s leadership, military and ballistic missile programme.

Mr. Khamenei has not been seen in public since the start of the war.

Iran’s unrelenting attacks on shipping traffic and energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf had earlier pushed oil back above $100 a barrel, as American and Israeli strikes pounded the Islamic Republic with no sign of an end to the war in sight.

Iran is trying to inflict enough global economic pain to pressure the United States and Israel to halt their bombardment, which began on February 28 and killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran’s President said Thursday (March 12, 2026) that its attacks would continue until Iran gets security guarantees against another assault, indicating that even a ceasefire or U.S. declaration of victory might not halt the conflict.

U.S. President Donald Trump has meanwhile promised to “finish the job,” even though he claimed Iran is “virtually destroyed.” Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, meanwhile, launched some 200 rockets from Lebanon at northern Israel while sirens rang out and loud booms from the interception of Iranian missiles could be heard in other areas. Israel launched another wave of attacks on Tehran and in Lebanon, where 11 people were killed.

The UN refugee agency said up to 3.2 million people in Iran have been displaced by the ongoing war. It said most have fled from Tehran and other major cities toward the north of the country or rural areas. At least 759,000 people have been internally displaced in Lebanon, it said.

Israel’s military on Thursday (March 12, 2026) warned residents of an even larger area of southern Lebanon to leave their homes. It said they should move north of the Zahrani River, which at its midpoint is about 56 kilometres away from the border with Israel.

(With AFP and AP inputs)