DUBAI, Apr 30:
Iran’s supreme leader said today that the Islamic Republic will protect its “nuclear and missile capabilities” as a national asset, likely seeking to draw a hard line as US President Donald Trump presses for a wider deal to cement the war’s shaky three-week ceasefire.
Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei maintained the defiant tone he has struck since taking over as supreme leader following the killing of his father in the war’s opening airstrikes.
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In a written statement read by a state television anchor, Khamenei – who has not been seen in public since becoming supreme leader – said the only place Americans belonged in the Persian Gulf is “at the bottom of its waters” and that a “new chapter” was being written in the region’s history.
His remarks come as Iran’s oil industry is being squeezed by a US Navy blockade halting its oil tankers from getting out to sea. But the world economy is also under pressure as Iran maintains its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of all crude oil is transported.
On Thursday, the global benchmark for oil, Brent crude, traded as high as $126 a barrel.
That shock to oil supplies and prices is putting pressure on Trump, who on Thursday floated a new plan to reopen Strait of Hormuz.
Under the plan, the United States would continue its blockade on Iranian ports, while coordinating with allies to impose higher costs on Iran’s attempts to subvert the free flow of energy, according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
The official added that it is just one of multiple diplomatic and policy efforts that Trump is weighing.
With a fragile ceasefire in place, the US and Iran are locked in a standoff over the strait. The US blockade is designed to prevent Iran from selling its oil, depriving it of crucial revenue while also potentially creating a situation where Tehran has to shut off production because it has nowhere to store oil.
The strait’s closure is also problem for the US’ Gulf allies, which use the waterway to export their oil and gas. (AP)
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