CIA analysis indicates Iran retains 70% of its pre-war missile stockpile and can sustain the Strait of Hormuz blockade for months, directly contradicting public statements from US officials about Iran's degraded capabilities.
Iran's recently installed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei declared the country will safeguard its nuclear and missile programs, rejecting US President Donald Trump's efforts to curtail these capabilities through military action and diplomatic pressure, amid an ongoing US naval blockade, Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz, and indirect talks mediated by Pakistan.
At the White House state dinner, President Trump claimed King Charles III shares his position on Iran's nuclear program, saying "Charles agrees with me even more than I do, we're never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon", drawing the traditionally apolitical monarch into a live diplomatic controversy.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the ongoing war with Iran is the 'last best chance' to avoid a nuclear Islamic regime in interviews with Al Jazeera and others, while President Donald Trump issued nuclear threats against Iran and the administration indicated US objectives could be achieved within weeks.
