Iran's new supreme leader vows continued retaliation across Gulf and oil routes

Amna Nawaz:

Welcome to the "News Hour."

We're following several major stories tonight, including an attack on a synagogue in Michigan and a shooting at Old Dominion University in Virginia, but first to the war with Iran.

Geoff Bennett:

The new supreme leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei, vowed in a written statement today that Iran's retaliation throughout the Gulf will continue, and the widening conflict pushed oil back above $100 a barrel, rattling global markets.

We start our coverage again tonight with special correspondent Leila Molana-Allen in Qatar.

Leila Molana-Allen:

After 13 days of war, Iran punctuated its strikes with a fiery statement read aloud today by a news anchor on Iranian state TV.

Woman (through interpreter):

"We will not refrain from avenging the blood of your martyrs."

Leila Molana-Allen:

They're the first words in this war from Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, installed just this week after the former supreme leader, his father, Ali Khamenei, was assassinated by U.S.-Israeli bombardment on day one.

That attack killed his wife, son and mother as well. Today's statement dismissed any hope of Iran backing down from its unrelenting attacks in the Gulf.

Woman (through interpreter):

"As we had given an explicit warning and without carrying out any aggression against those regional countries, we remain committed to the necessity of friendship between ourselves and those neighbors and have merely targeted those U.S. bases. From now on, we will also be compelled to continue this action."

Leila Molana-Allen:

And on the global oil supply.

Woman (through interpreter):

"Certainly, the leverage of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must continue to be used. And opening other fronts where the enemy is highly vulnerable if the war continues will be considered while observing strategic interests."

Leila Molana-Allen:

It comes as Iran has ramped up its assault on the narrow but critical Strait of Hormuz. The sea is becoming littered with damaged tankers, charred and abandoned after Iranian strikes. These were hit offshore from Iraq's Basra Port.

Iraqi officials say all oil terminals there have been completely shut down. Other energy infrastructure too was set ablaze today, like this facility in Bahrain. The strategic blockade has sent oil futures spiking back up to more than $100 a barrel. That's up nearly 40 percent from before the war started.

The United States says it plans to release 172 million barrels from its strategic reserves, after initially opposing yesterday's historic effort by the International Energy Agency to ease prices. Meanwhile, U.S.-Israeli strikes continue their efforts to hollow out Tehran, caught in the crossfire, everyday residents forced to live amongst the rubble.

Woman (through interpreter):

You can see for yourself, everything is damaged. The bathroom wall has fallen apart, the ceiling, the cabinets as well. Thank God we are safe ourselves.

Leila Molana-Allen:

The United Nations Refugee Agency says that as many as 3.2 million Iranians have been displaced by the bombing. Israel said a wide-scale wave of strikes targeted Iranian drone stockpiles and for the first time security checkpoints, while satellite images showed damage to a military complex key to Iran's nuclear development program.

And, in Lebanon, the scope of Israeli attacks is getting wider by the day. The IDF bombed this building in Central Beirut twice. It's the first such attack in the capital's busy commercial district. Overnight, Hezbollah launched more than 200 missiles toward Israel, the largest barrage so far and, for the first time, coordinated its attack with Iran, according to Israeli military officials.

Here in Qatar, the conflict continues, with missile defense systems fending off Iranian drone and missiles daily, in stark contrast to President Trump's claims that Iran has been virtually destroyed. In fact, U.S. intelligence indicates that Iran's leadership is still largely intact and shows no signs of collapse any time soon.

And Tehran is stepping up its repression tactics too, with state TV programs like this one threatening any critics who dare take to the streets to demonstrate.

Reza Molaei, TV Presenter (through interpreter):

We will grab you by the collar, every single one of you, and that's already happening. Confiscating your property is nothing. We will make your mothers mourn you. Those of you now who have foolish ideas and think things are chaotic and must be done, this message is for you, both inside and outside the country.

Leila Molana-Allen:

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today encouraged Iranians to ignore those threats.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister (through interpreter):

You can lead someone to the water trough, but you can't force them to drink. We will create the optimal conditions to do that, including airstrikes like we did yesterday, like we are doing these days, to try to give them the space they need to take to the streets. But those are our goals.

Leila Molana-Allen:

Sky-high tensions and even higher stakes for a region riven by war.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Leila Molana-Allen in Doha, Qatar.