Iran Leader Vows to Protect Nuclear, Missile Assets

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei declared Thursday that the country will defend its nuclear and missile capabilities as essential national assets, rejecting any concessions amid a fragile ceasefire with the United States in the ongoing conflict. In a written statement read on state television to mark Persian Gulf Day, Khamenei adopted a defiant stance against American presence in the region, stating that foreigners acting with "greed and malice" belong "at the bottom of its waters."

Khamenei's remarks, delivered through a television anchor as has been his practice since assuming leadership, come two months after a February 28 attack that killed his father, the previous Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was 86. Reports indicate Mojtaba Khamenei was wounded in the same strike. He also posted on social media that "a new chapter for the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz is unfolding," emphasizing shared destiny with regional neighbors and the U.S. as the primary source of instability.

The statement occurs against a tense standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of global crude oil and natural gas passes. Iran has maintained...