Iranian supreme leader vows to protect regime's missile, nuclear capabilities

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Friday sounded a bellicose tone in a public statement in which he vowed to maintain Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities amid the ongoing efforts by the U.S. to force them to eliminate or reduce both.

Khamenei has remained out of the public spotlight since the start of the war and is reported to have sustained severe injuries in an early strike by the U.S. He, nonetheless, has addressed the public through written statements relayed through state media and other official channels.

The supreme leader's statement, Politico reported, promised to maintain Iranian nuclear ambitions and heralded a "new chapter" in the geopolitics of the Persian Gulf.

President Donald Trump, for his part, has sought to secure nuclear and ballistic missile concessions from Tehran and has imposed a standing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in a bid to pressure the regime into capitulating.

Peace talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, failed to reach a formal agreement and Trump extended the ceasefire between both countries to avoid a return to active fighting.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.