“Close all US bases or face attack”: Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issues stark warning to region

Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on Thursday warned Gulf Arab states to shut down US military bases on their soil, saying the installations would face attack and dismissing Washington’s security guarantees as “nothing more than a lie”. He also called for the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz as a strategic pressure tool against Iran’s enemies as the war with the United States and Israel escalates.

In his first major public statement since assuming the country’s top leadership role, Khamenei said Iran would pursue retaliation for those killed in the conflict and would not hesitate to respond against its enemies.

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“Iran will not refrain from avenging the blood of its martyrs,” he said.

The statement, read on Iranian state television, also referenced victims of recent attacks, including those killed in the Minab school strike, which Iranian officials have blamed on hostile forces.

Khamenei warned that Iran would demand reparations from its adversaries and, if those were not forthcoming, would respond by striking their economic or military interests.

“We will obtain compensation from the enemy, or we will destroy its assets to the same extent,” he said.

He also urged governments in the region to close US military bases operating on their territory, saying those facilities would otherwise remain legitimate targets for Iranian forces.

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“All US bases in the region should immediately be closed, and those bases will be attacked,” Khamenei said.

Despite the warning, the Iranian leader said Tehran’s military actions were focused specifically on American installations rather than neighbouring countries themselves.

“We believe in friendship with neighbours and only target the bases, and we will inevitably continue,” he said.

Khamenei also thanked allied groups across the region, referring to them collectively as the “resistance front” and describing them as Iran’s closest partners in confronting its adversaries.

He further reiterated that Iran should continue using the Strait of Hormuz as a strategic tool in the conflict.

“The closure of the Strait of Hormuz should be continued as a tool to pressure the enemy,” he said.

Alongside the military warnings, Khamenei called for domestic unity and urged Iranians to participate in upcoming political and religious events.

“I call for unity among the people and for participation in Quds Day,” he said.

Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Iran’s long-time Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has emerged as the Islamic Republic’s most powerful figure after his father was killed in a joint US–Israeli strike on Tehran. His ascent comes at a time of escalating regional tensions and widening confrontation between Iran and its adversaries.