Middle East

Iran’s New Supreme Leader Khamenei Says Hormuz Strait Should Stay Closed

A man holds a poster of Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, right, and the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, on March 11.
Photographer: Vahid Salemi/AP Photo

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By Eltaf Najafizada, Patrick Sykes, and Paul Wallace

March 12, 2026 at 1:26 PM UTC

Updated on

March 12, 2026 at 2:49 PM UTC

Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said the Strait of Hormuz should remain closed and signaled he won’t back down in the Middle East war, in his first public comments since succeeding his assassinated father.

The 56-year-old hardline cleric, appointed over the weekend, also said that other fronts in Iran’s conflict with the US and Israel will be opened if the fighting persists.