Iran’s supreme leader isn’t hinting at compromise, he’s broadcasting defiance. Even as President Donald Trump probes for a diplomatic opening, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei responds with a vow: Iran will not relinquish its nuclear or missile ambitions.

In a Persian Gulf Day address, Khamenei dressed expansionism in the language of destiny, sketching a “future” for the region cleansed of American influence. His message to the United States was less subtle than it was theatrical, foreign powers, he warned, belong “at the bottom” of the Gulf. Strip away the flourish, and the claim is blunt: the United States is an illegitimate actor whose removal is not just desirable, but inevitable.

That assertion isn’t just........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)