The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Iran will continue to shut the Strait of Hormuz as leverage against the United States and Israel, said a defiant new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in his first 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 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 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. He said on Wednesday that his country "won" the war, but will stick around to finish the job.