Iran’s supreme leader vows to protect nuclear and missile capabilities

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, declared that Tehran will defend its “nuclear and missile capabilities” as core national assets, striking a combative note as Washington presses for a broader agreement to shore up a fragile ceasefire.

The intervention comes as US President Donald Trump pushes for an expanded deal aimed at reinforcing the uneasy truce that followed the war.

Since assuming power after his father was killed at the outset of the conflict, Mr Khamenei has consistently projected defiance, and his latest message stayed firmly in that vein.

In a written statement read out by a state television presenter, he said the only rightful place for Americans in the Persian Gulf was “at the bottom of its waters” and said the region was entering a “new chapter” in its history.

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His comments landed as Iran’s oil sector faces mounting strain from a US Navy blockade that is preventing its tankers from reaching open sea.

At the same time, the wider global economy is feeling the squeeze as Iran keeps its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passageway that carries one-fifth of the world’s crude oil shipments.

The hit to supplies and prices has increased the pressure on President Trump, who has put forward a fresh proposal to reopen the strait.

Under that plan, according to a senior administration official, the United States would maintain its blockade of Iranian ports while working with allies to raise the cost of any Iranian effort to disrupt the free flow of energy.

The official said Mr Trump is considering a range of diplomatic and policy measures designed to force Iran to loosen its hold on the strategic waterway.

Despite the ceasefire, the US and Iran remain locked in a tense confrontation over the strait.

The American blockade is intended to stop Iran from exporting oil, cutting off a vital source of income and potentially leaving Tehran with so much unsold crude that it may be forced to curb production for lack of storage.

The closure of the strait also threatens US partners in the Gulf, which depend on the route to ship oil and gas to global markets.

A recent proposal from Iran would delay negotiations over the country’s nuclear programme until a later stage.

President Trump has said one of the main reasons he went to war was to prevent Iran from acquiring the capacity to build nuclear weapons.

Tehran has long insisted its programme is peaceful, even though it enriched uranium to 60%, close to weapons-grade levels.

Pakistan continues to broker indirect talks between Washington and Tehran, but has also said it would welcome direct contact between the two sides, including by telephone.

“If the two parties can engage in real-time conversations, that could ease the sticking points,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told a weekly news briefing.

He did not provide details of any proposals put forward by either Iran or the United States.

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, pictured in 2019

Mr Khamenei’s statement, issued to mark Persian Gulf Day in Iran, made clear that Tehran does not intend to bargain away either the nuclear file or its ballistic missile programme.

“Ninety million proud and honourable Iranians, inside and outside the country, regard all of Iran’s identity-based, spiritual, human, scientific, industrial and technological capacities – from nanotechnology and biotechnology to nuclear and missile capabilities – as national assets, and will protect them just as they protect the country’s waters, land and airspace,” Mr Khamenei said.

He also invoked the term “Great Satan”, the longstanding epithet used by Iranian leaders for the United States since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

“Foreigners who come from thousands of kilometres away to act with greed and malice there have no place in it – except at the bottom of its waters,” said Mr Khamenei, who was reportedly wounded in the 28 February attack that killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was 86.

US blockade ‘doomed to fail’ – Pezeshkian

Separately, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said the US naval blockade was “contrary to international law” and insisted it was “doomed to fail”.

In a statement, he said the measures would “not only fail to enhance regional security, but are in fact a source of tension and a disruption to lasting stability in the Persian Gulf”.

Mr Khamenei’s remarks also appeared to underline that Iran intends to preserve its control over the Strait of Hormuz, which lies within the territorial waters of Iran and Oman.

Iran has reportedly been charging some vessels $2 million (€1.7m) apiece to pass through the strait.

Mr Khamenei said Tehran’s control of the passage would strengthen security in the Gulf and argued that Iran’s “legal rules and new management” of the route would serve the interests of all nations in the region.

Much of the world, however, regards the strait as an international waterway that should remain open to all traffic without tolls.

Gulf Arab states, led by the United Arab Emirates, have likened Iran’s control of the route to piracy.

Additional reporting Reuters, AFP