In first message, new Iranian leader Mojtaba Khamenei swears revenge for ‘martyrs,' orders closure of Hormuz Strait & threatens attacks on new fronts

Iran’s new leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, struck a defiant tone in his first message to the Iranian people since he was announced as the successor of his father as the regime’s supreme leader.

However, the written message was only read aloud by TV presenters, meaning there has still been no visual or audio footage of the new leader since his appointment. This has fueled speculation about his condition, after he had been wounded in airstrikes earlier during the war.

On Thursday, the British daily, The Sun, cited a source who said Khamenei is in “very serious” condition, having lost one or both legs, and being treated in a closed-off hospital.

The statement read out on Thursday afternoon contained no major surprises, confirming expectations that Khamenei is not likely to be ready for concessions after losing his parents, wife, and a son during the war, after having long been described as a radical true believer in the Islamic Republic’s revolutionary ideology.

According to the statement, the people’s “servant,” Mojtaba Khamenei, learned from TV reports that he had been chosen to succeed his father.

مجلس خبرگان رهبری ... مطابق وظیفه شرعی و اعتقاد به حضور در محضر خداوند متعال، در اجلاسیه فوق‌العاده امروز آیت‌الله سیدمجتبی حسینی خامنه‌ای (حفظه الله) را بر اساس رٱی قاطع نمایندگان محترم مجلس خبرگان رهبری به عنوان سومین رهبر نظام مقدس جمهوری اسلامی ایران، تعیین و معرفی می‌نماید. pic.twitter.com/R9k3BJfUZY

— رسانه رهبر انقلاب اسلامی (@Rahbarenghelab_) March 12, 2026

“To sit in the place where two great leaders sat – Ruhollah Khomeini the Great and the martyred Khamenei – is a very difficult task for me,” he claimed.

Reports suggest Khamenei was chosen due to his close connection with the IRGC and through what some described as a “soft coup” as the IRGC reportedly pressured members of the Assembly of Experts, which chose the leader, behind the scenes.

In a section addressing the “brave fighters,” Khamenei said it is “the will of the people” to continue “the determined and punishing defense” against the “leaders of the camp of global arrogance.”

Fake News CNN just aired four straight minutes of uninterrupted Iranian state TV, run by the same psychotic and murderous regime that has prided itself on brutally slaughtering Americans for 47 years. pic.twitter.com/npScTDRgUm

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 12, 2026

“In addition, the lever of closing the Strait of Hormuz must continue to be used,” he said, confirming that the regime wants to cut off the traffic through the strategic waterway. There have been several reports of ships being attacked near the strait over the past 24 hours.

In addition to the closure of the strait, the new leader in effect doubled down on threatening the neighboring countries, despite claiming that the regime “without seeking to establish domination or colonialism in the region, is fully prepared for unity and warm, sincere reciprocal relations with all its neighbors.”

This followed after he claimed that Iran’s neighbors had allowed the U.S. to use military bases on their territory during the war. “Therefore we attacked only those bases, without harming the countries themselves,” he claimed falsely. “If this continues – we will continue attacking the bases. I recommend that these countries close the American bases.”

Khamenei also threatened that “additional fronts where the enemy is vulnerable” could be attacked soon, without elaborating further.

He further thanked the members of the “Axis of Resistance,” including Hezbollah and the Iranian proxies in Iraq, for their assistance. Notably, he also thanked the Yemeni Houthis, who haven’t actively participated in the war so far.

“I assure everyone that we will not forgo revenge for the blood of your martyrs,” the supreme leader vowed, noting that the “crime that the enemy deliberately committed regarding the Shajareh-Tayyebeh school in Minab has a special status in this process.”

“We will take compensation from the enemy, and if it refuses, we will take from its property to the extent we deem appropriate; and if that is not possible, we will destroy its property to the same extent,” he warned.

The condition of Khamenei and, therefore, the authenticity of the statement attributed to him, remains unclear.

The Sun’s report that he was unconscious was based on information from a source in Tehran who reportedly “managed to dodge” the near‑total internet blackout to send a message to a London‑based exiled dissident.

He said his information came from a member of the trauma team treating Khamenei in intensive care in a sealed-off section at Sina University Hospital.