Defiant Iranian leader threatens oil choke point while Israel intensifies strikes to stop regime aggression
Iran’s newly appointed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei ordered the strategic Strait of Hormuz oil shipping lane to remain closed on Thursday as tensions in the region escalated sharply. The order came as U.S. President Donald Trump declared that confronting the Islamic Republic’s destabilizing actions was more important than the potential surge in global oil prices. Khamenei, who was reportedly injured during a recent air strike and has not appeared publicly since being named Supreme Leader on March 8, delivered his message through state television. In the statement, he insisted that blocking the critical maritime route must be used as leverage and said Iran’s retaliation for U.S. and Israeli strikes had begun but would continue until its objectives were fully achieved.
At the same time, Israel’s military launched what it described as a wide-scale new wave of strikes across multiple locations in Iran, targeting infrastructure linked to the regime’s military capabilities. Explosions were also heard over Jerusalem after Iranian missiles were launched toward Israeli territory, highlighting the rapidly expanding confrontation between the two sides. Despite the rising tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, India indicated that its energy security remains stable. Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said India has increased the share of crude imports sourced outside the Hormuz route to around 70 percent. A Liberia-flagged oil tanker carrying approximately one million barrels of crude from Saudi Arabia successfully docked in Mumbai after navigating through the strait at a time when regional marine traffic had slowed amid security concerns.
