Iran’s newly installed Supreme Leader has issued a fiery call to escalate the conflict with the United States and its allies, ordering the “weaponization” of the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz — even as conflicting reports swirl about his own condition after allegedly being seriously wounded in recent airstrikes.

Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father after the assassination of Ali Khamenei earlier this year, delivered his first public message – if it’s his – on Wednesday through Iranian state television. The statement, read aloud by an anchor, warned that Iran would not hesitate to avenge those killed in the escalating war.

“Iran will not refrain from avenging the blood of its martyrs,” the statement said, adding that Tehran would seek compensation from its enemies or “destroy their assets accordingly.”

The message also called for all U.S. military bases in the region to be closed immediately and warned that attacks against American forces would continue. At the same time, Khamenei claimed Iran still seeks to maintain friendly relations with neighboring Gulf states.

“We believe in friendship with our neighbors and are directing our actions only toward military bases,” the statement said. “We will be forced to continue this campaign.”

He also called on large crowds to participate in rallies marking Quds Day, the annual event in Iran dedicated to opposition to Israel and Zionism.

According to the statement, Mojtaba Khamenei said he learned of his appointment as Iran’s Supreme Leader by the Assembly of Experts through a television broadcast.

“I visited the body of Imam Khamenei after his death, and what I saw was a mountain of strength, pride, honor and revolution. We must act on every front where our enemies are weak,” the statement said.

Despite the defiant tone of the statement, sources inside Iran say the country’s new leader may be critically wounded and possibly unconscious.

According to a source in Tehran cited by dissidents abroad, Khamenei is currently being treated in intensive care at Sina University Hospital, where an entire section of the facility has reportedly been sealed off by security forces.

The source alleged the cleric may have lost a leg and suffered severe internal injuries after the airstrikes that targeted his father’s compound in Tehran on the first day of the war. Other reports claim his liver or stomach may have ruptured.

Iranian officials have not confirmed those details, but they have acknowledged that the leader was injured. The country’s ambassador to Cyprus said he suffered wounds to his legs, hand and arm during the bombardment.

State media has referred to him as “Jaanbaz of Ramadan,” a Persian term meaning a wounded war veteran.

Because of an ongoing internet blackout in Iran and tight government secrecy, his exact medical condition remains impossible to independently verify.

The uncertainty surrounding the new leader’s health has fueled speculation that Iran is currently being directed largely by commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Those commanders are believed to have been ordered to continue fighting indefinitely, even if the country’s leadership is incapacitated.

Meanwhile, Iran has continued launching attacks across the region, including explosive-laden drone and boat strikes that have rattled global energy markets and sent oil prices soaring.

Analysts and former associates of the new leader say he could prove even more dangerous than his father.

An exiled Iranian official who studied with Khamenei in the city of Qom described him as “obsessed with the end of days” and willing to pursue a far more ruthless strategy against Iran’s enemies.

According to the former associate, Khamenei views the country’s nuclear program and military forces as tools necessary to secure Iran’s dominance in the region.

“If he does not care about the lives of his own people,” the official said, “why would he care about the lives of others?”

The new Supreme Leader has not appeared in public since taking power and has never delivered a speech since assuming the role. Some sources claim he may not even be aware of the full scope of the war now unfolding. Others speculate he could already be dead, with the Iranian regime continuing to issue statements in his name.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)