Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Thursday that the leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz should be used and that Iran’s attacks on Gulf Arab neighbours will continue. His first statement since his appointment was read on state television by a news anchor. Khamenei did not appear on camera, and an Israeli assessment indicates he was wounded in the war’s opening salvo.

He vowed to avenge those killed in the war, including in a strike on a school. He said Iran would “obtain compensation” from its enemy, referring to the United States.