IRAN will protect its “nuclear and missile capabilities” as a national asset, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said today, apparently seeking to draw a hard line as US President Donald Trump seeks a wider deal to cement the current shaky ceasefire.

Mr Khamenei said in a written statement that the only place the US belonged in the Persian Gulf was “at the bottom of its waters” and that a “new chapter” was being written in the region’s history.

His remarks came as Iran’s oil industry has begun to be squeezed by a US naval blockade halting its oil tankers from reaching the sea.

Meanwhile, the prices of benchmark Brent crude for June delivery reached $126 (£93) a barrel in trading today as Iran continues to maintain its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global fossil fuel supplies normally pass.

“We and our neighbours across the waters of the Persian Gulf and the [Gulf] of Oman share a common destiny,” Mr Khamenei said.

“Foreigners who come from thousands of kilometres away to act with greed and malice there have no place in it — except at the bottom of its waters.”

He seemed to signal that Tehran would maintain its control over the waterway, which lies in Iranian and Omani territorial waters.

Iran has reportedly been charging some ships $2 million (£1.4m) to travel through the strait.

Elsewhere, Israel continued to attack Lebanon despite a supposed ceasefire, killing at least nine people in strikes across the country today.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called for international pressure on Israel to make it respect international law and to “stop targeting civilians, paramedics, civil defence and humanitarian, health and relief organisations.”

He told a delegation from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies that Israel’s attacks “do not spare paramedics and volunteers, with approximately 17 paramedics from the Lebanese Red Crescent and other humanitarian organisations having been killed so far, in addition to targeting journalists.”

Mr Aoun added: “The work done by volunteers to rescue the wounded represents the ultimate sacrifice and selflessness in the service of the humanitarian mission they believe in, even to the point of martyrdom, despite the fact that the rescue missions they undertake are reported in advance to ensure their protection.”