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Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has ordered the continued blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime artery for a quarter of the world’s oil and gas.
In a defiant statement read on state television, Khamenei called for the closure of all U.S. military bases in the Gulf, framing the blockade as an essential tool of pressure.
This directive follows a wave of Iranian attacks on energy targets in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, which briefly pushed oil prices above $100 a barrel and sparked warnings of the largest supply disruption in history.
U.S. President Donald Trump has dismissed concerns over soaring fuel costs, stating that dismantling Iran’s “evil empire” and preventing it from acquiring nuclear weapons is a higher priority than stabilising crude prices.
Despite domestic pressure, Trump indicated that the American-led air campaign would not end immediately, even as U.S. forces targeted Iranian mine-laying vessels to prevent the Strait from becoming permanently unnavigable.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces launched a “wide-scale” wave of strikes on Thursday, reportedly targeting a nuclear development site near Tehran.
The human and economic toll of the 13-day conflict is mounting rapidly.
The United Nations reports that over three million people have been displaced in Iran, while violence in Lebanon has killed nearly 700 people and displaced 800,000 more.
Although 32 nations agreed to release record amounts of emergency oil reserves, analysts warn the measure is insufficient to offset the 15 million barrels of crude currently blocked daily.
Experts suggest the Iranian regime, with little left to lose, is settling into a protracted war of attrition against U.S. and Israeli forces.
