President Donald Trump has called America’s allies “cowards” for not doing more to open up the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran effectively closed after the United States and Israel launched the war, sending global energy prices soaring.

Meanwhile, as Iranians held muted celebrations for Persian new year, the country’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei appeared to issue his second major statement without audio or video since his appointment two weeks ago. Khamenei has still not appeared in public since the war began.

Here’s what you need to know:

Trump lashes out: The US president has once again berated allies, calling them “COWARDS” over their reluctance to get involved in assisting with the Iran war. “They complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a simple military maneuver,” he wrote on Truth Social.

Khamenei’s purported statement: Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has purportedly given his second statement since he was appointed nearly two weeks ago. In the message — read out in his name on state television, without accompanying video or audio — Khamenei called for unity in Iran and claimed he had ridden the streets of Tehran “anonymously” in a taxi.

Iran’s replacements: Iran has not named replacements for most of the senior officials killed by Israeli strikes since the war began on February 28. A CNN survey of official announcements showed that no successors have been named for more than a dozen senior officials whose deaths have been confirmed by Tehran. Israel has repeatedly vowed to keep targeting senior officials in the Iranian regime.

Lebanon evacuations: Meanwhile, more than 1,000 people — including at least 110 children — have been killed in Lebanon since Israel began its military operations in response to Iran-backed Hezbollah’s rocket attacks on March 2. Israel issued widespread evacuation orders in southern Lebanon today. The United Nations warned a fifth of the country’s population has been uprooted from their homes in the past two weeks.

Oil price rises: The price of oil remains well above $100 a barrel, as the nearly three-week-old war shows little signs of stopping. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, has bobbed up and down today after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would heed Trump’s call to halt its strikes on key Iranian energy sites.

In a lengthy statement read out in his name on state television, ostensibly marking the start of the Persian New Year, Khamenei blamed attacks on Oman and Turkey as false flag tactics by the US and Israel, called for unity within Iran and claimed he had ridden the streets of Tehran “anonymously” in a taxi.

“I also emphasize that the attacks carried out in Turkey and Oman – both countries with which we have appropriate relations … were in no way conducted by the armed forces of the Islamic Republic or by any other forces of the Resistance Front. This is a trick by the Zionist enemy.”

Khamenei has made no public appearance since being chosen to succeed his father earlier this month, and it was unclear how or when he toured the Iranian capital. The statement said, “For a period of time, for example, I would ride with you anonymously in a taxi – arranged at my own request – through the streets of Tehran and listen to your words, and I considered this kind of sampling better than many surveys.”

The new statement was accompanied by still images of Khamenei, the authenticity of which has not yet been verified by CNN. Just over a week ago, in his first purported message also read out on state television, he delivered a defiant rebuke to the US and Israel and demanded reparations.

A briefer statement was issued in Khamenei’s name earlier Friday following the killing of the Intelligence Minister in Tehran earlier this week. “Security may be denied to internal and external enemies and granted to all our compatriots,” the statement said. (CNN)

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