Iran's new supreme leader vowed that the Islamic Republic would protect its "nuclear and missile capabilities" as national assets.
Mojtaba Khamenei in a rare message on Thursday April 30, rejected US pressure on nuclear program as energy prices soared to their highest point in four years.
According to NBC News, the defiant statement, read aloud on state television, was the latest signal that Tehran was not about to capitulate in the standoff over the crucial Strait of Hormuz that is wreaking havoc on the global economy.
Khamenei said that Iran would secure the Gulf region and eliminate what he described as "the enemy's abuses of the waterway."
The message also said that new management of the Strait of Hormuz would bring calm, progress and economic benefits to all Gulf nations.
He said, “By God's help and power, the bright future of the Persian Gulf region will be a future without America, one serving the progress, comfort and prosperity of its people.”
The price of the international benchmark for oil, Brent crude, rose to more than $126 a barrel at one point overnight, the highest since 2022, when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, before falling back to around $114 a barrel as of 8:30 a.m. ET.
Gas prices in the United States rose to an average of $4.30 a gallon Thursday, also the highest level in nearly four years.
The Axios reported that the US military was set to brief President Donald Trump on plans for potential military action to help break the deadlock in talks to end the war and reopen the key trade route.
