Iran's new supreme leader urges 'revenge' as IRGC boats attack oil tankers

On Thursday, Iranian state TV broadcast the first public message from new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, read aloud by presenters. In it, he said that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz should continue and called for "revenge" over the US and Israel's attacks on Iran, pointing to the Feb. 28 strike on Iran's Minab school that killed 168, people, primarily children. 

At least one person was killed after explosive-laden boats believed to be operated by Iran struck two oil tankers off the coast of Iraq near the country's Basra port overnight. Iranian state media outlets reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had taken responsibility for attacking one of the ships. The Iraqi News Agency reported that all oil terminal operations were suspended after the attack. 

Another ship was reportedly attacked before dawn on Thursday near the Emirati port of Jebel Ali.

On Tuesday, US warplanes struck minelayer boats belonging to the IRGC. The strikes follow growing concern among US military officials that IRGC naval forces were preparing to deploy floating mines in the narrow waterway, as Al-Monitor reported.

On Wednesday, an Iranian military spokesperson said the strait was "undoubtedly" under Iran’s control. Meanwhile, the Group of Seven — the US, Canada, Japan, Italy, Britain, Germany and France — agreed to examine the possibility of providing naval escorts for commercial vessels operating in the Gulf.

Meanwhile, Israel’s military said in a post on X that it had struck 10 buildings in the southern suburb of Dahiyeh that it said were used by Hezbollah. A strike on central Beirut's seafront killed at least eight people, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.