Iran's new supreme leader vows to defend nuclear, missile programs

Iran's new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei declared Wednesday that Tehran will not surrender its nuclear and missile programs and will maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz, delivering a defiant message to Washington as Brent crude climbed to $126 a barrel.

The statement — delivered on Persian Gulf Day months after Khamenei assumed power following his father's death in U.S. airstrikes — signals Tehran intends to treat its weapons programs as non-negotiable. With a fifth of global crude oil transiting the strait, the standoff carries direct consequences for energy costs in Southern California and beyond.

Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since assuming office, had his remarks read by a state television anchor to mark Persian Gulf Day, according to The Wall Street Journal. He was reportedly wounded in the Feb. 28 attack that killed his father, who died at 86.

The new supreme leader framed Iran's weapons programs as inviolable national property. "Ninety million proud and honorable 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," Khamenei said.

He also issued a sharp warning about American military presence in the region. "Foreigners who come from thousands of kilometers away to act with greed and malice there have no place in it — except at the bottom of its waters," Khamenei said.

Iran has enriched uranium to 60 percent purity, approaching weapons-grade levels, while asserting control over the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of all global crude oil flows. The Wall Street Journal reported that Tehran has charged ships $2 million each to transit the waterway under its current restrictions.

Pakistan is serving as a conduit for indirect talks between Washington and Tehran. "If the two parties can engage in real-time conversations, that could ease the sticking points," Tahir Andrabi, spokesperson for Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a weekly news briefing. U.S. President Donald Trump has pressed for military strikes and sanctions to curb Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Brent crude traded at $126 a barrel Thursday as markets assessed the durability of the Hormuz standoff. With no direct talks scheduled and both sides digging in, the prospect of a swift diplomatic resolution appears distant, according to The Wall Street Journal.