US claims of security and peace “nothing but a lie” says Iran’s supreme leader in his first public address : Peoples Dispatch
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Mojtaba Khamenei also underlined that Iran will continue to block traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and may expand the war if required as a defensive tactic against US-Israeli aggression

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei “advised” the country’s neighbors to shut down all US military bases they are hosting as soon as possible, claiming they do no service but threaten regional peace and stability.

The leaders in the countries in the region “must have realized by now that America’s claims of establishing security and peace was nothing but a lie,” Khamenei said while addressing the nation for the first time on Thursday, March 12, after being elected.

Iran elected Mojtaba as the country’s new supreme leader after his predecessor and father Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei was assassinated in a US-Israeli attack on his office in Tehran on February 28, the first day of the war.

Iran has since been subjected to indiscriminate US-Israeli bombings in which over 1,400 people have been killed and over 18,000 have been injured. Iran has retaliated to these strikes targeting various US military installations in the region and the Israeli territories.

Israel and the US bombed different parts of Tehran on Friday morning as well, despite large popular gatherings throughout the country marking Quds day, the last Friday of Ramadan, observed as a day of solidarity with the Palestinians. At least one person was killed in the US-Israeli bombing near one such march in Tehran.

Khamenei declared that all Iranians killed in US-Israeli bombings are “martyrs” and vowed to seek justice for them and their families. He asked the people to maintain national unity and help each other at a time when the country is being subjected to “terrorism by the US and the Israeli regime.”

Khamenei repeated that Iran will seek reparations for the death and destruction caused by Israel and the US, saying, “if they refuse to pay, we will seize their assets to an equivalent value, and if that is not possible, we will destroy their properties.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also spoke about reparations as one of the three conditions for ending the war. He outlined the conditions in a post on X on Monday. The three are: recognition of Iran’s legitimate rights, payment of reparations, and firm guarantees against future aggressions.

Strait of Hormuz will remain shut

Praising the country’s armed forces for their resilience against the aggressors, Khamenei emphasized that they should prioritize keeping the Strait of Hormuz shut until the war is over.

He also suggested opening new fronts as per the needs and interests of the country’s defenses.

Iran has warned ships not to try crossing the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. This has effectively blocked the transport of around 20% of the world’s energy needs that pass through it. The blockade has already caused an increase in prices of petroleum products across the globe, as the price per barrel has crossed USD 100. In several Asian countries, shortages of cooking gas have already been reported.

Iran has maintained that the Strait of Hormuz is a crucial part of its defense against imperialist aggression and it will function normally only if the war ends and Iran is allowed to live in peace.

While announcing the continuation of the blockade of the Hormuz, Iran has also defied repeated threats of escalation by US President Donald Trump and a UNSC resolution adopted on Wednesday demanding the end of the blockade.

Read more: The war on Iran is Washington’s most unpopular war in history among the US public

No foreign military bases in the region

Though Khamenei assured all its neighboring countries about Iran’s intentions of maintaining good relations, he warned that Iranian attacks on the foreign troops and military bases in some of those countries will continue as a defensive measure.

Iran has claimed that numerous US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait have been used to launch attacks against it and targeted them with drones and missiles.

On Wednesday, Iran rejected a UNSC resolution asking for an immediate end of all Iranian attacks in these countries and calling such attacks “illegitimate and immoral.”

Khamenei advised the governments in the region to stop hosting foreign military bases on their territories if they really seek peace and stability.

Read more: As US wages war for regime change, Iran affirms continuity

The supreme leader also praised the significant role played by various allies in the region, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Ansar Allah in Yemen, and militias in Iraq mounting resistance against the imperialists. He said Iran considers “the countries of the resistance front to be our best friends.”

“The cause of resistance is an inseparable part of the value of the Islamic revolution. The solidarity of these countries makes the path to breaking the Zionist plot shorter,” Khamenei said.

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