Iran will avenge the blood of its martyrs, keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and attack US bases, new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday in a statement read out on state television, his first remarks since succeeding his slain father.

In the defiant address, Khamenei said the United States must close all its bases in the region. The strait, which runs past Iran’s coast and supplies a fifth of the world’s oil, should remain shut to put pressure on the enemy, he said.He said that said Iran will seek compensation from enemies or destroy their assets accordingly. Khamenei said that the ‘resistance front’ is an inseparable part of the Islamic revolution’s values.“We believe in friendship with neighbours and only targeted the bases, and we will inevitably continue,” says the Iran’s new supreme leader.

Two tankers were ablaze in an Iraqi port on Thursday after a hit by suspected Iranian explosive-laden boats, a step-up in attacks that have cut off oil from the Middle East and defied US President Donald Trump’s claim to have won the war he launched two weeks ago.

Images verified by Reuters as having been filmed from the shore of the port of Basra showed ships engulfed in massive orange fireballs that lit up the night sky, after the attacks, which Iraqi authorities blamed on Iranian boats. At least one crew member was killed.

Hours earlier, three other ships had been struck in the Gulf. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed responsibility for at least one of those attacks, on a Thai bulk carrier that was set ablaze, which the Guards said had disobeyed their orders. Another container vessel reported being struck by an unknown projectile near the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.

Global energy supplies disrupted
The war that began with a US-Israeli bombing campaign at the end of February has so far killed around 2,000 people and caused what the International Energy Agency describes as the biggest disruption to global energy supplies in history.

Undermining US and Israeli claims to have knocked out much of Iran’s stock of long-range weapons, more drones were reported on Thursday flying into Kuwait, Iraq, the UAE, Bahrain and Oman.

Lebanon’s Iran-backed militia Hezbollah fired its biggest volley of rockets into Israel of the war, prompting fresh Israeli strikes on Beirut.

Oil prices soared back above $100 a barrel LCOc1, having come down earlier in the week when Trump said the war would be over soon. Iran has said it will not let oil through the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important energy trade route, until US and Israeli attacks cease. O/R

Trump says ‘we won’
Trump has repeatedly tried to calm energy markets this week by saying the surge in oil prices will be short-lived.

But he has not explained how the war will end, or presented a plan to reopen the blockaded strait. US and Israeli officials say the aim is to destroy Iran’s missile and nuclear programmes, but Trump has also demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” and the power to determine its leaders.

“You never like to say too ⁠early you won. We won,” ​Trump told a campaign-style rally in Hebron, Kentucky, on Wednesday. “In ​the first hour it was over.”

The United States had “virtually destroyed Iran”, he said. But he added: “We don’t want to leave early, do we? We got to finish the job.”

BEIJING: Passenger train services between China and North Korea were set to resume on Thursday following a six-year hiatus, railway authorities and tour agencies said, after the link was suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic.

China is North Korea’s largest trading partner and a vital source of diplomatic, economic and political support for the isolated nuclear state.

Train journeys between the East Asian neighbours were halted in 2020 under strict border closures to prevent the coronavirus from spreading.

However, China Railway said that regular train services would resume on Thursday, with the first set to depart from the Chinese capital on Thursday evening bound for Pyongyang.

The K27 train would make a few stops, including at the port city of Tianjin, and then head northeast to Dandong, a Chinese city bordering North Korea.

Wagons holding passengers bound for Pyongyang will then be attached to another train there, taking them across the border to the nearby North Korean city of Sinuiju, said Rowan Beard from Young Pioneer Tours, a company specialising in North Korea travel.

Beard said those wagons, as well as North Korean domestic carriages, would be attached to a new train that would then head to Pyongyang, where China Railway said it would arrive on Friday evening.

China Railway also said there would be a separate daily service between Dandong and Pyongyang.

Travel agents for an official ticketing booth in Beijing told AFP on Tuesday that anyone with a valid visa was now able to buy train tickets to the North.

This would include Chinese people working and studying in North Korea, as well as North Koreans working, studying and visiting family abroad.

Trains will run in both directions between Beijing and Pyongyang every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, China Railway said.

Entry and exit procedures would be completed at the Dandong border crossing and at Sinuiju in North Korea, it added.

Tickets are currently available for offline purchase at several Chinese cities, the statement added.

• Armed Iranian boats attacked two tankers in Iraqi waters.
• Thailand-flagged bulk carrier damaged off Oman.
• Most crew evacuated, three feared missing.

Iranian explosive-laden boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member on Wednesday, after projectiles struck three vessels in Gulf waters, said port, maritime security and risk firms.

The latest attacks mark an escalation in the conflict between Iran and US-Israeli forces, raising the number of ships struck in the region since fighting began to at least 16.

Shipping in the Gulf and along the narrow Strait of Hormuz, which carries around a fifth of the world’s oil, has come to a near-standstill since the U.S. and Israel began strikes on Iran on February 28, sending global oil prices surging to highs not seen since 2022.

The ships targeted in late-night armed boat attacks in the Gulf near Iraq were the Marshall Islands-flagged Safesea Vishnu and the Zefyros, which had loaded fuel cargoes in Iraq, two Iraqi port officials said.

“We recovered the body of a foreign crew member from the water,” one port security official said, as Iraqi rescue teams continued searching for other missing seafarers. It was not immediately clear which ship the person was linked to.

The Safesea Vishnu’s US-based commercial operator and beneficial operator are Safesea Transport Group and Safesea Group, respectively, according to data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence. They did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

One Iraqi port security source said Zefyros is flagged in Malta and provided Reuters with a list of crew names.

Zefyros Trading SA is the registered owner of the tanker matching that name and description, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data. Lloyd’s data shows UK-based Cygnus Tankers Limited as the commercial operator and the George & Vassilis Michael family group of companies, a key player in Greek shipping, as the beneficial owner.

Cygnus Tankers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reuters was not able to immediately reach the other two entities.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have warned that any ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz will be targeted. US President Donald Trump has threatened to ramp up US attacks on Iran if it continues to obstruct the Strait.

The Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree dry bulk vessel was struck by “two projectiles of unknown origin” while sailing through the strait earlier on Wednesday, causing a fire and damaging the engine room, the ship’s Thai-listed operator Precious Shipping said in a statement.

“Three crew members are reported missing and believed to be trapped in the engine room,” Precious Shipping said.

“The company is working with the relevant authorities to rescue these three missing crew members,” it said, adding that the remaining 20 crew members had been safely evacuated and were ashore in Oman.

Images provided by the Thai navy showed smoke pouring out of the back of the ship.

Iran’s Guards said in a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency that the ship was “fired upon by Iranian fighters”, suggesting the first direct engagement by the Guards, who have previously fired missiles or drones.

The U.S. Navy has refused near-daily requests from the shipping industry for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz since ​the start of the war on Iran, saying the risk of attacks is too high for now, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Trump has said the US is prepared to provide naval escorts whenever needed.

Two other ships sustain minor damage

The Japan-flagged container ship ONE Majesty also sustained minor damage on Wednesday from an unknown projectile 25 nautical miles (46 km) northwest of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, two maritime security firms said.

Its Japanese owner, Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd and a spokesperson for Ocean Network Express, its charterer, said the vessel was struck while at anchor in the Gulf, and an inspection of the hull revealed minor damage above the waterline.

All crew are safe, they said, adding that the vessel remains fully operational and seaworthy. The owner said the cause of the incident remained unclear and was under investigation.

A third vessel, a bulk carrier, was also hit by an unknown projectile approximately 50 miles (30 miles) northwest of Dubai, maritime security firms said.

The projectile had damaged the hull of the Marshall Islands-flagged Star Gwyneth, maritime risk management company Vanguard said, adding that the vessel’s crew were safe. Owner Star Bulk Carriers said the ship was hit in the hold area whilst anchored. There were no crew injuries and no listing.

The Guards’ statement included a reference to another ship, which it said was hit by projectiles – usually a reference to drones – on Wednesday morning. Reuters was not immediately able to confirm that report.