Iran vows to defend nuclear and missile arsenal as US squeezes oil exports

Tehran says Americans are “at bottom” of Gulf — and

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to protect the country’s nuclear and missile programmes, framing U.S. pressure as part of a wider attempt to curb Iran amid an uneasy ceasefire. As a U.S. blockade tightens the squeeze on Iranian oil exports, Tehran keeps the Strait of Hormuz shut, heightening fears of escalation in the Persian Gulf.