Iran’s newly appointed supreme leader has issued a chilling warning to the United States, threatening to unleash waves of “proxy fighters” across the Middle East unless American military bases in the region are shut down.
Trump mocking new Supreme leader of Iran Mojtaba Khamenei showing off “carboard Ayatollah” , at the White House pic.twitter.com/A9xJjDn2uv
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The alarming message came from Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of longtime Iranian former supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, who recently assumed power amid the escalating conflict between Iran, the United States, and Israel.
The alarming message marked Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei’s first public statement since assuming power as the new supreme leader and comes amid swirling rumors about his health, including claims circulating in regional media that the cleric may be in a coma or even lost a leg following injuries during the ongoing conflict.
Iran’s new supreme leader did not appear on national TV himself, instead his reported statement was read by an announcer. The absence pf Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has only fuel rumors that he is either too injured to deliver his statement personally or possibly even died in an airstrike.
⭕ LIVE: Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, gives first address since his appointment and the killing of his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. https://t.co/ibiuNLe0Rq
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The 56-year-old son of longtime Iranian ruler Ali Khamenei delivered the threat through Iranian state channels as tensions across the Middle East continue to escalate.
The 56-year-old cleric, long believed to wield enormous influence behind the scenes in Tehran, delivered the stark threat through Iranian state channels as tensions in the region continue to boil. Khamenei warned that Iran would mobilize a network of militant groups, also commonly referred to as “sleeper cells” across the Middle East if Washington refuses to withdraw its military presence from key bases in the region.
“If the Americans do not close their bases, the resistance front will respond,” the Iranian leader declared. “We will use every means available to force the enemy from our lands.”
Iran’s so-called “resistance front” refers to a powerful web of armed groups backed by Tehran, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shiite militias operating in Iraq and Syria, and the Houthi forces in Yemen. These organizations have repeatedly targeted U.S. and allied interests throughout the Middle East, often through missile attacks, drones, and strikes on military installations.
Security experts say the network of proxy groups allows Iran to wage indirect war against its enemies while avoiding direct confrontation with American forces.
The warning comes at a moment when the region is already teetering on the edge of wider war. Iranian-aligned fighters have launched rockets toward Israel, targeted shipping routes tied to Western allies, and attacked military sites believed to host U.S. personnel.
In the same statement, Khamenei vowed revenge for what he described as the deaths of Iranian leaders and civilians during recent strikes tied to the growing conflict.
“The blood of our martyrs will not be forgotten,” the message said. “Those responsible will pay the price.”
Iran’s new supreme leader also issued a fresh warning involving the Strait of Hormuz — one of the world’s most strategically vital oil routes. Roughly one-fifth of the global oil supply travels through the narrow waterway, and Iranian officials have repeatedly threatened to disrupt traffic there during times of conflict.
Any attempt to block or restrict the passage could send global energy markets into turmoil. But it is Khamenei’s ideological outlook that has sparked the greatest alarm among analysts studying the new Iranian leadership.
According to a Daily Mail report, Iran’s new supreme leader has long been fascinated with apocalyptic religious beliefs tied to Shiite Islam and the idea that humanity is approaching an end-times struggle. According to experts cited in recent reporting, Khamenei has expressed a deep interest in the concept of global upheaval preceding the arrival of a messianic figure known as the Mahdi.
Those beliefs have raised fears among critics who worry the new leader may be even more hardline than his father, who ruled Iran for more than three decades as the supreme leader. Despite never holding elected office, Mojtaba Khamenei spent years building influence within Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and among the nation’s clerical leadership. His close ties to security forces and conservative factions helped cement his authority behind the scenes long before his rise to supreme leader.
His elevation to Iran’s highest position has also stirred controversy because it effectively creates a dynastic transfer of power — something critics say contradicts the revolutionary ideals that toppled Iran’s monarchy in 1979. “The resistance will continue,” Khamenei warned. “And those who believe they can break Iran will soon learn their mistake.”
Still, Tehran’s new supreme leader appears determined to project strength as the Middle East conflict intensifies.
