Khamenei Rejects Foreign Military Presence in the Gulf

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has declared that foreign states have no place in the Persian Gulf and that Iran will defend its nuclear and missile capabilities as national assets.

"We and our neighbors [...] share a common destiny. Foreigners who come from thousands of kilometers away to act with greed and malice there have no place in it - except at the bottom of its waters", he said in a statement aired by Iranian state television.

Khamenei stressed that Iran considers its technological and industrial capabilities central to its national identity, to be protected as much as its territory.

"Ninety million proud and honorable Iranians [...] regard all of their capacities - from nanotechnology and biotechnology to nuclear and missile capabilities – as national assets", he said.

The remarks came in response to US President Donald Trump's efforts to reach a deal on Iran's nuclear and missile programmes. Khamenei said the future of the Gulf region should be free of a US presence and should serve the development and prosperity of local people.

(guardian, bak)