Pedestrians pass by a giant billboard of Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran, Iran, on April 10, 2026. —AFP––Getty ImagesIran has vowed to defend its nuclear and missile capabilities in direct defiance of President Donald Trump, who is adamant that a deal can only be made to end the war if Tehran agrees to give up its nuclear ambitions.Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in a written statement read by a state television anchor on Thursday, said his country will defend its “fundamental and modern technologies—from nano and bio to nuclear and missile—as their national capital and will guard them like their maritime, land, and air borders.”He also said that Iran would implement “new legal frameworks and management of the Strait of Hormuz” and argued that “foreigners” have no place in the Persian Gulf, except “at the bottom of its waters.”The Supreme Leader, who has not been seen in public since he succeeded his late father early on in the war, also directed a warning to U.S. bases and troops in the region, suggesting they “do not even have the strength to ensure their own security.”His statement coincided with Iran’s National Persian Gulf Day. Iran’s indication that it does not intend to relinquish control of the Strait—and Trump’s vow to maintain the U.S. naval blockade of Iran’s ports in the waterway until a deal is made—means the impasse in the stalled negotiations remains.On Wednesday, Trump complained that “Iran can’t get their act together.”“They don’t know how to sign a nonnuclear…

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Pedestrians pass by a giant billboard of Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran, Iran, on April 10, 2026. —AFP––Getty ImagesIran has vowed to defend its nuclear and missile capabilities in direct defiance of President Donald Trump, who is adamant that a deal can only be made to end the war if Tehran agrees to give up its nuclear ambitions.Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in a written statement read by a state television anchor on Thursday, said his country will defend its “fundamental and modern technologies—from nano and bio to nuclear and missile—as their national capital and will guard them like their maritime, land, and air borders.”He also said that Iran would implement “new legal frameworks and management of the Strait of Hormuz” and argued that “foreigners” have no place in the Persian Gulf, except “at the bottom of its waters.”The Supreme Leader, who has not been seen in public since he succeeded his late father early on in the war, also directed a warning to U.S. bases and troops in the region, suggesting they “do not even have the strength to ensure their own security.”His statement coincided with Iran’s National Persian Gulf Day. Iran’s indication that it does not intend to relinquish control of the Strait—and Trump’s vow to maintain the U.S. naval blockade of Iran’s ports in the waterway until a deal is made—means the impasse in the stalled negotiations remains.On Wednesday, Trump complained that “Iran can’t get their act together.”“They don’t know how to sign a nonnuclear…

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