The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, March 13, edition that Iran will continue to shut the Strait of Hormuz as leverage against the United States and Israel, said new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in his first defiant comments. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a veiled threat against Ayatollah Khamenei and defended the military assault on Iran, which has disrupted energy and stock markets. Ayatollah Khamenei's statement called on Iran's neighbours to shut U.S. bases on their territory and warned that Iran would continue to target them. The prospect of one of the most severe disruptions ever to global energy supplies enduring sent oil prices up about 9 per cent to $100 (U.S.) a barrel, after falling earlier in the week on hopes of a swift end to the conflict. Iran has said it will not let oil back through the strait until U.S. and Israeli attacks cease. President Donald Trump has played down the higher oil prices. "The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money," Mr. Trump wrote on social media. Economists say sustained high prices would drive broad inflation.