Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued a written statement defending the country's nuclear and missile capabilities as national assets, vowing they would be protected. The message was read on state television as he remains out of public view following the airstrike that killed his predecessor.

Khamenei said that Iran's scientific and technological achievements, including nuclear and missile programs, are integral to the nation's identity and sovereignty. He declared that Iranians would safeguard these capabilities as firmly as they defend their territory.

He also delivered a sharp rebuke of the United States presence in the Persian Gulf, stating that Americans belong only 'at the bottom of its waters.' Khamenei asserted that regional security should be managed by Gulf nations themselves and promised that new management of the Strait of Hormuz would bring stability and economic benefits without foreign interference.