Iran’s supreme leader said Thursday that the Islamic Republic will protect its “nuclear and missile capabilities” as a national asset, even as U.S. President Donald Trump tries to get a deal on those issues.

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei spoke in a written statement read aloud on Iranian state television, as he has since he took over after the Feb. 28 airstrike that killed his 86-year-old father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei .

“Ninety million proud and honorable Iranians inside and outside the country regard all of Iran’s identity-based, spiritual, human, scientific, industrial and technological capacities — from nanotechnology and biotechnology to nuclear and missile capabilities — as national assets, and will protect them just as they protect the country’s waters, land and airspace,” Khamenei said.

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