Iran’s New Supreme Leader Breaks Silence With Defiant Threat
In a dramatic escalation of the two-week-old conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran, the Islamic Republic’s newly appointed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has issued his first public statement — and it was anything but conciliatory.
Speaking through a written message read on Iranian state television on Thursday, March 12, the 56-year-old hard-liner vowed that the Strait of Hormuz — the world’s most critical oil chokepoint — would remain closed as a tool of leverage against Iran’s enemies. He also pledged that Iran would not refrain from “avenging the blood of the martyrs” and demanded that all U.S. military bases in the region shut down or face continued attacks.
Khamenei, who succeeded his father Ali Khamenei after the elder leader was killed in the initial U.S.-Israeli strikes on February 28, has not appeared on video or in public since his appointment on Monday, March 9. According to both Iranian and Israeli officials, the new supreme leader was injured in the opening salvo of Operation Epic Fury, though the full extent of his injuries remains unclear.
His defiant written statement marks the first official confirmation that Iran’s new leadership intends to continue — and potentially escalate — the conflict rather than seek a ceasefire.
Tankers Ablaze Off Iraq as Oil Markets Spiral
Khamenei’s threats are not empty rhetoric. Just hours before his statement, Iran appeared to set two oil tankers ablaze in Iraqi territorial waters, killing at least one crew member. Footage released by Iraqi authorities showed a massive vessel engulfed in flames at sea, sending thick columns of black smoke into the sky.
The attacks prompted both Iraq and Oman to immediately close their oil export terminals — a devastating blow to an already reeling global energy market.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) issued an extraordinary warning on Thursday, declaring that the Iran war has caused “the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.”
Oil prices, which had spiked to nearly $120 per barrel earlier this week before retreating, surged again above $100 a barrel on Thursday morning. An Iranian military spokesperson earlier this week taunted Washington directly: “Get ready for oil to be $200 a barrel, because the oil price depends on regional security, which you have destabilised.”
The price shock came despite a coordinated effort by the United States and other major economies, which pledged on Wednesday to release 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency strategic petroleum reserves — a move intended to calm panicked markets.
Gulf Airports Under Fire: Bahrain and Kuwait Hit by Drones
Iran’s campaign of regional retaliation continued to expand on Thursday. A reported Iranian drone struck the fuel storage facility at Bahrain International Airport, sending smoke billowing over the capital Manama. Citizens and residents across several Bahraini neighborhoods were ordered to shelter in place, close windows, and seal ventilation openings as emergency services scrambled to contain the situation.
Separately, drones struck Kuwait International Airport on Thursday, causing material damage. The attack came just one day after two drones hit near Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates, injuring four people and prompting Dutch carrier KLM to cancel all flights to Dubai through March 28.
The expanding pattern of attacks on Gulf aviation infrastructure underscores Iran’s willingness to target the economic lifelines of U.S.-allied Arab states. Iran has now launched strikes across at least nine countries in the region: Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Cyprus — where an Iranian drone struck a runway at a UK Royal Air Force base.
Operation Epic Fury: Day 13 By the Numbers
As the conflict enters its thirteenth day, the scale of the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran continues to grow:
- 3,000+ targets struck by U.S. forces during Operation Epic Fury, according to CENTCOM
- 28 Iranian military sites knocked out, per President Trump’s latest claims
- 16 Iranian minelaying vessels destroyed near the Strait of Hormuz on March 10
- Iran’s naval capabilities described as being “totally dismantled” by CENTCOM officials
- Six U.S. service members killed in action and 140 wounded, according to Pentagon figures
- Iran has fired over 500 ballistic missiles since the conflict began, though analysts note the rate of launches is declining — likely due to depleted missile stocks
The Pentagon has described the operation as “laser-focused on destroying Iranian offensive missiles” while CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper stated that “U.S. forces continue delivering devastating combat power against the Iranian regime.”
Humanitarian Toll Mounts Rapidly
The human cost of the conflict is staggering and growing by the day. According to the latest figures:
- Nearly 2,000 people killed since February 28, the majority in Iran
- 1,230 killed in Iran, at least 486 in Lebanon, and 11 in Israel
- Over 1,100 children killed or injured, according to UNICEF
- 3.2 million people displaced inside Iran, per the UN refugee agency (UNHCR)
The United States is also investigating a deadly strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school in southern Iran — an incident that has drawn international condemnation and could further complicate Washington’s narrative of precision targeting.
Shipping in Crisis: Thailand Demands Apology
The maritime dimension of the conflict continues to intensify. On Thursday, Thailand’s foreign ministry formally demanded an apology from Iran after a Thai-flagged bulk carrier, the Mayuree Naree, was struck and set ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz. The crew was forced to evacuate the burning vessel.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed the attack, with the Tasnim news agency reporting that the ship was “fired upon by Iranian fighters.” Two additional ships were also hit by unknown projectiles in the strait on the same day.
The attacks have brought non-Iranian vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz — normally a conduit for one-fifth of the world’s oil — to a near standstill. In a brazen move, Iran has continued shipping its own oil through the strait to China, even as it blocks everyone else.
Lebanon Under Siege as Israel Opens New Strike Waves
The conflict is not limited to Iran. Israeli forces continued pounding targets in Lebanon on Thursday, conducting a drone strike on a beachfront area in Beirut where displaced residents were sheltering in tents. At least eight people were killed.
The Israeli military also issued evacuation warnings to residents of a village located about 40 miles east of Beirut and announced it had begun “yet another widescale wave of strikes on Iran.” The IDF claimed it struck a nuclear program site in Iran earlier this week, though this could not be independently verified.
Meanwhile, displaced Palestinians in a tent encampment near Gaza City reported receiving a call from the Israeli military on Wednesday night ordering them to evacuate in five minutes — after which the camp was struck.
An Italian military base in Erbil, in Iraq’s Kurdish region, was also attacked, though Italy’s foreign minister confirmed all soldiers were safe.
What Happens Next?
With Iran’s new supreme leader publicly doubling down on confrontation, the prospects for a quick end to the conflict appear dim. Mojtaba Khamenei’s defiant statement signals that Iran’s hardline IRGC-aligned leadership sees no path to de-escalation — at least not on American terms.
The oil crisis is rapidly becoming a global economic emergency. If Iran makes good on its threats of $200 oil, the economic shockwaves will be felt in every country on Earth. The IEA’s emergency reserve release is a stopgap, not a solution.
For now, the bombs keep falling, the tankers keep burning, and the world’s most important shipping lane remains effectively shut. Day 13 of Operation Epic Fury has brought no signs of the “epic” victory Washington promised — only a deepening crisis with no end in sight.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as the situation evolves.