# Never Surrender! Young Khamenei Vows Revenge to the End, Opens New Front Against U.S. Military

Khamenei's son has finally spoken. Recently, Iran's new Supreme Leader Mujtaba issued his first public statement since taking office. Mujtaba's first public statement since assuming office reveals three main points:

First, framing as "martyrdom" to pave the way for revenge. At the start of the statement, Mujtaba did not discuss politics, but rather spoke about family. In his statement, he emotionally mourned his father—former Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei—calling him a "radiant treasure" and an "outstanding historical figure."

He also recalled the scene when he saw his father's body: the body "like a resilient mountain peak," with the only movable hand clenched into a fist. Furthermore, Mujtaba revealed that besides his father, he also lost his wife, sister, niece, and brother-in-law in this attack. In Middle Eastern political contexts, this kind of narrative is not merely private grief, but a very typical political signal—characterizing death as "martyrdom." Once characterized as "martyrdom," the nature of the matter changes completely. This is no longer just a military conflict, but a question of national dignity, religious faith, and national revenge. For Iran domestically, this narrative very easily generates powerful social mobilization.

In other words, from Mujtaba's statements onward, Iran has elevated this conflict to the level of a "historical mission."

Second, calling for retaliation. After expressing condolences, Mujtaba directly pointed fingers at the United States, explicitly stating that Iran will pursue revenge to the end, and emphasized continuing to use the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as a "strategic lever," and if necessary, will open new fronts against U.S. forces. Iran will continue to blockade the Strait of Hormuz. For Iran, this is actually a typical "asymmetric strategy."

From a military perspective, Iran clearly cannot confront the United States comprehensively, but if the battlefield is moved to straits, tankers, and shipping lanes, the situation becomes completely different. As long as the Strait of Hormuz remains tense, not only the United States is affected, but also numerous countries like Europe, Japan, and South Korea that depend on Middle Eastern energy. This essentially tells the world: if the United States continues to escalate the conflict, then the global energy market won't enjoy peace either.

Third, issuing stern warnings to regional countries, mainly those hosting U.S. military bases. Mujtaba explicitly warned that countries allowing U.S. military presence should quickly close American military bases, as the United States' so-called rhetoric of "bringing security and peace" is merely a lie. This statement actually strikes at the core of Middle Eastern security structure. U.S. military presence in the Middle East is primarily concentrated in several key countries, such as Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE.

These countries have long allowed U.S. military presence partly to obtain security protection and partly to maintain balance in regional politics. But Iran's current strategy is clear—not directly engaging the U.S. mainland, but making every U.S. military base in the Middle East unsafe. If these bases remain under threat from missiles and drones long-term, Middle Eastern countries will eventually face a practical question: whether to continue providing bases for the United States, or prioritize their own security first?

Once this hesitation appears, the military network that the United States has built over decades in the Middle East will develop cracks. Iran's 40th wave of strikes against U.S. forces lasted nearly 5 hours. Currently, Iran's counteroffensive has fully unfolded. On March 12, Iran's 40th wave of strikes against U.S. forces concluded. In this operation, Iran coordinated with Lebanese armed organization Hezbollah in strikes lasting 5 hours. Iran deployed various types of missiles, including "Ghadir," "Haibar," "Fatah," and "Emad," implementing dense strikes on Israel from south to north, hitting over 50 important targets.

Meanwhile, Iran's navy also attacked an oil tanker flying the Marshall Islands flag but believed to be associated with the United States. The U.S. and Israel's assassination of high-ranking Iranian officials originally intended to plunge Iran's government into chaos by striking key figures, thereby forcing Tehran to make concessions at the negotiating table.

But the actual situation produced the opposite result. Not only did Iran complete the power transition swiftly, but more hardline political forces have begun to dominate the situation, making America's predicament increasingly difficult. Market reaction already demonstrates this. Following Mujtaba's statement, international oil prices rapidly rose, U.S. stock markets clearly declined, with the Dow Jones index dropping 739 points.

Overall, Mujtaba's current strategy is to "make the U.S. military homeless in the Middle East." In coming years, the Middle East will likely enter a new phase: full-scale war won't break out, but conflict won't truly end either. Missile strikes, tanker incidents, and proxy wars may take turns.

For the world, this means a very practical problem: the Middle East, the global energy heart, will likely remain in turmoil long-term. And for America, Trump may have already realized something—this time, he may have truly encountered an opponent that won't easily back down. $ETH ‌$BTC ‌