DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s supreme leader said Thursday that the Islamic Republic will protect its “nuclear and missile capabilities” as a national asset, likely seeking to draw a hard line as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks a wider deal to cement the shaky ceasefire now holding in the war. Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, speaking in a written statement read by a state television anchor as he has since taking over as Iran’s supreme leader, struck a defiant tone, insisting the only place Americans belonged in the Persian Gulf is “at the bottom of its waters” and that a “new chapter” was being written in the region’s history. However, his remarks come as Iran’s oil industry has begun to be squeezed by a U.S. Navy blockade halting its oil tankers from getting out to sea.…