IRAN: First Statement From Iranian Supreme Leader Threatens Escalation

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei indicated in his first official statement, read out on State TV, that the regime will continue its hardline response to US-Israeli strikes, potentially widening the conflict to include new regional targets.

• Mojtaba said, per Iran Nuances, “Lever of closing Strait of Hormuz must continue to be used. We've had studies on opening other fronts where enemy has little experience and would be extremely vulnerable. These will be activated if the war situation persists..." He added, if "reparations" aren't paid, "we will take from their assets to the extent we deem appropriate. And if that is not possible, we will destroy their property to the equivalent value..."
• He warned that while Iran seeks "constructive relations" with neighbours, it will continue to strike targets in the Gulf if "foreign military bases" are used against Iran. He added that Arab countries should "shut down US bases as soon as possible."
• The statement is broadly in line with a prevailing view that Mojtaba is aligned with hardline elements of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC). 
• Iran expert Hamidreza Azizi wrote earlier this week that Majles speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf “said Iran is certainly not pursuing a ceasefire and instead believes it must deliver a decisive blow that becomes a lasting lesson to the aggressor.”
• Azizi wrote. “In this view, Iran is trying to break what it sees as Israel’s preferred cycle of war, negotiation, ceasefire and then renewed war. Tehran appears increasingly determined to reject a quick ceasefire, widen the costs of the conflict, and force a new strategic equation.”
• The NYT noted earlier that the hardline response from the Iranian regime makes its pursuit of a nuclear bomb more likely, and therefore an exit strategy for the US more complicated.