New Supreme Leader Issues Defiant Statement

“Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader, struck a defiant tone on Thursday in what Iranian state media said were his first public comments since succeeding his slain father, vowing that Iran would continue to block the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil route, and that it would not refrain from ‘avenging the blood of the martyrs,'” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Khamenei has not appeared on video or in public since he was appointed on Monday to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei… His written comments came as Iran continued to threaten attacks on oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz that benefit the United States and its allies.”