Iran vows to ‘guard’ nuclear, missile technologies despite US pressure
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has declared that the country will protect its nuclear and missile capabilities regardless of pressure from the United States, while also projecting a future Persian Gulf region free from American influence.
The message was contained in a statement issued on Thursday to commemorate National Persian Gulf Day, with Iranian state media reporting that Khamenei described the region’s future as one “without America,” reports ABC.
Khamenei, who assumed leadership in March following the killing of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has remained out of public view since the outbreak of the ongoing war.
In the statement, he stressed that Iran “will guard” its nuclear and missile technologies despite external pressure from the U.S. and Israel.
He added that Tehran would also “secure the Persian Gulf region and eliminate the hostile enemy’s misuse of this waterway.”
His remarks come amid rising tensions, following a warning from Iran’s naval leadership. Rear Adm. Shahram Irani, commander of the Iranian Navy, said on Wednesday that Iran “will take swift and decisive action” if hostilities with the U.S. and Israel resume.
Irani further stated that Tehran has “closed the Strait of Hormuz from the Arabian Sea, and if they come forward, we will take swift and decisive action,” according to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting organization.
