Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei says Strait of Hormuz should remain shut

FILE PHOTO: Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of late Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, attends a meeting in Tehran, Iran, October 13, 2024. Hamed Jafarnejad/ISNA/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo

DUBAI, March ⁠12 (Reuters) - Iranian ⁠Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei ‌said on Thursday the Strait of Hormuz ​should remain closed ⁠as a ⁠tool of pressure.

In a ⁠message read ‌out by a ⁠state TV broadcaster, the ​first ‌the new supreme leader ⁠has ​issued since he was appointed ⁠to succeed his slain ​father, Mojtaba said all U.S. bases in ⁠the region should be closed as they would be ​attacked.

(Reporting by ⁠Parisa Hafezi and ​Elwelly Elwelly, ‌Writing by Nayera ​Abdallah, Editing by Timothy Heritage)