Iran issues chilling Strait of Hormuz is 'under new management' threat to the West

Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, declared that the Strait of Hormuz will be “under new management” in a landmark announcement on Thursday.

“The enemy will compensate us for every damage inflicted,” he continued. “We will in no way relinquish our rights, and in this regard we consider the entire Resistance Axis as a unified whole.”

The Iranian leader delivered the momentous statement in a written address read aloud on state television. This follows reports that only a small number of vessels have been permitted to navigate the Strait since the ceasefire was announced.

The operation of the vital waterway, which is widely expected to ease pressure on the oil and gas industry, was a central component of the agreement.

The statement further noted that Iran is awaiting an “appropriate reaction from our southern neighbors” — the Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf — so that Iran may “show you our brotherhood.”

The leader also declared that the country is resolute in its desire to “take revenge” for his slain father, who was killed during one of the early U.S.-Israeli strikes on February 28. Khamenei assumed the leadership role following his father’s death.

In the days since the ceasefire announcement, it has become increasingly apparent that both sides are finding the terms difficult to honour.

Despite assurances that Lebanon would be included in protections against Israeli attacks, Israel has continued to carry out missile strikes on the country, killing an estimated 300 people and injuring approximately a thousand more.

President Donald Trump told NBC News in an interview on Thursday that he had urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be “a little more low-key” in operations in Lebanon, as the U.S. seeks to broker an end to the conflict with Iran.

This Saturday, a U.S. delegation is due to travel to Pakistan, where talks mediated by the South Asian nation are scheduled to take place.

Khamenei’s threatening statement comes just days after Trump unleashed a series of fierce warnings directed at Iran across social media.

The U.S. leader wrote: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that ‌to happen, but it probably will.”

Trump’s outburst appears to have had a profound effect on how Americans perceive not only the war with Iran, but also his ability to govern the country with a steady hand.

A recent poll from the co-founder of Free Speech for People revealed that fifty-two percent of registered voters, including one in seven Republicans, backed the impeachment of the U.S. leader.