Mojtaba Khamenei Issues Written Directive to Block Strait of Hormuz

Mojtaba Khamenei Issues Written Directive to Block Strait of Hormuz

Following the joint U.S.-Israeli Operation "Lion's Roar" earlier this month—which resulted in the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and widespread destruction of Iranian military infrastructure—his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has issued a new directive. Israeli media sources report that the statement calls for the continued blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and vows revenge for recent Iranian casualties.

Both Hebrew-language sources emphasize the specific format of the communication. עמית סגל (Amit Segal), a prominent Israeli journalist known for a pro-government and pro-Netanyahu editorial stance, reported that "Mojtaba Khamenei does not publish a recording, but only a written message." He noted the directive insists that the "Strait of Hormuz must continue to be blocked."

Similarly, חדשות מהשטח בטלגרם (News from the Field), an Israeli channel with a generally critical, anti-Netanyahu editorial line, highlighted the absence of multimedia. The channel referred to the statement as his "speech" but pointed out that it "was written and not spoken in his voice."

According to this channel, Mojtaba Khamenei's statement explicitly declared: "The Strait of Hormuz must be closed. We will not give up the blood revenge of the Shahids [martyrs]."

Cross-Narrative Framing: While the source material for this event comes entirely from Israeli Hebrew-language channels, a distinct dynamic is visible in how the Iranian statement is processed by the adversary media. The Iranian narrative, preserved in the reported text, relies on religiously charged terminology, framing their casualties as "Shahids" (martyrs) and presenting the blockade of a major global maritime chokepoint as a retaliatory right.

Conversely, the Israeli sources—despite their differing domestic political biases regarding Prime Minister Netanyahu—converge completely in their framing of the event. Rather than focusing solely on the military threat, both channels deliberately draw the reader's attention to the text-only format of the message. By quoting "in his speech" in quotation marks and explicitly noting it was "not spoken in his voice," the Israeli reporting emphasizes the lack of direct audiovisual broadcast from the Iranian leadership in the wake of the massive strikes on Iranian soil.