TEHRAN: Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in his latest written message, hinted at a shift in the country's management of the Strait of Hormuz.
He also said that the Islamic Republic does not want war with the United States and Israel, but would protect its rights as a nation, state television reported Thursday.
"We did not seek war, and we do not want it," he said in the message read out on state TV, coinciding with 40 days since his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed on February 28, the first day of the war.
"But we will not renounce our legitimate rights under any circumstances, and in this respect, we consider the entire resistance front as a whole," he added, in an apparent reference to Lebanon, where Israel is fighting a war with Tehran's ally Hezbollah.
According to reports, Mojtaba also said Iran would move into a "new phase" in handling the Strait of Hormuz, the shipping corridor through which nearly a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes.
"Iran will take management of the Strait of Hormuz into a new phase," he said.
Meanwhile, traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained limited despite the announcement of a ceasefire with the United States that could lead to peace negotiations after threats of annihilation from US President Donald Trump.
Iran said it would limit traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to a maximum of 15 vessels per day under its ceasefire agreement with the United States, according to a report by Russia’s TASS news agency.
The ceasefire between Washington and Tehran is already under its most serious strain, less than 48 hours after it began. Tensions have escalated sharply after Iran moved to shut the Strait of Hormuz again, following a large-scale Israeli air campaign in Lebanon that killed over 100 people on Wednesday.
Khamenei also told Iranians that they must "not imagine that taking to the streets is no longer necessary" despite the announcement of the ceasefire.
"Your voices in public squares are undoubtedly influential in the outcome of the negotiations," he said, according to the message broadcast on state TV.
(With inputs from AFP)