Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, warned Thursday that US military bases need to be shut down and demanded compensation for their actions, while the Strait of Hormuz remains shut.
The warning came as President Donald Trump sought to play down surging oil prices and market volatility, saying the United States benefits from higher energy costs amid escalating Iranian attacks on shipping routes.
The International Energy Agency cautioned the world could face the “largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.”
Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei warned the United States and Israel on Thursday that they must pay “compensation” for their actions, while insisting that Tehran seeks friendly relations with its neighbors.
In his first televised address, Khamenei, referring to “the enemy” without naming countries, said: “We will ask for compensation from the enemy. If we can’t get compensation from the enemy, we will destroy their properties as much as they have destroyed ours.”
Khamenei emphasised that Iran has maintained good relations with its 15 neighboring countries but will continue targeting U.S. military bases used against Tehran. He called on regional governments to close American bases “as soon as possible.”
The warning comes amid rising US-Iran tensions, with President Donald Trump seeking to downplay surging oil prices and market volatility linked to Iranian attacks on shipping routes. Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.S., as the world’s largest oil producer, benefits from higher energy prices but stressed that stopping Iran’s nuclear ambitions remains his top priority.
“The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money. BUT, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stoping an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
” I won’t ever let that happen!” he added.
Trump’s comments came as the International Energy Agency warned the world could be facing the “largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market” amid intensifying Iranian attacks on shipping routes.
Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani also threatened that “the whole region will go dark in less than 30 minutes” if Iran’s electricity infrastructure is attacked, saying it would provide opportunities to target U.S. forces.
Meanwhile, U.S. Democratic senators criticized the administration for a lack of planning in the conflict.
Senator Chris Murphy said behind-closed-doors briefings confirmed the war’s goals do not include regime change or destroying Iran’s nuclear program. Both Murphy and Senator Chris Van Hollen warned that Washington has no plan to safely reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important energy chokepoint.
Van Hollen and others also accused Trump of pursuing a war aligned with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long-standing objectives. Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli diplomat, said Israel had manipulated the U.S. into the conflict for political reasons.
Amid escalating regional tensions, Israel issued further evacuation orders in southern Lebanon, expanding the zone north of the Zahrani River, affecting hundreds of thousands of civilians. Amnesty International criticized the orders as overly broad, noting they do not provide effective protection and do not justify treating the areas as open-fire zones.
