Iran’s reclusive new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei broke his weeks-long silence on Thursday with a written statement read on state television, declaring that the only place Americans belong in the Persian Gulf is “at the bottom of its waters” and that Iran will protect its “nuclear and missile capabilities” as a national asset.
He has not been seen in public since taking over from his assassinated father in February.
The defiant message came as Brent crude briefly topped $126 a barrel, a four-year high.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate that the 60-day War Powers clock requiring congressional approval “pauses” during the ceasefire, a position immediately rejected by Senator Tim Kaine.
CENTCOM has prepared a “short and powerful” wave of new strikes on Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz.
Russian Strikes Kill 22 Hours Before Putin’s “Truce”
Russian missile and drone strikes killed at least 22 people across Ukraine on Tuesday, just hours before Vladimir Putin’s unilateral two-day Victory Day “ceasefire” was
6 May 2026
