The supreme leader of , , sent a sharp message to the president of the USA, commenting on his statements about their military superiority and threatening to sink an American aircraft carrier.
“The US president claims that their military is the strongest in the world. However, even the strongest army can receive such a strong blow that it will not be able to stand up,” Khamenei said, adding that “not even you will succeed in overthrowing the Islamic Republic.” As he noted: “We keep hearing that the US has sent a warship to Iran. A warship is certainly a dangerous weapon, but even more dangerous is the weapon that can sink it.”
Washington sent the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln to the Gulf in January, which is still off Iran about 700 kilometers from its coast. A second aircraft carrier, the Gerald Ford, is expected to meet it at a date that remains uncertain.
Khamenei appeared cautious about the second round of talks that began this morning near Geneva to remove the risk of US military intervention.
“If there must be negotiations – because there is really no room for maneuver to negotiate – to predetermine the outcome of the negotiations is wrong and crazy,” he commented, referring to repeated US calls for Iran to abandon its nuclear program.
“The American president’s statements, sometimes threatening, sometimes dictating what should or should not be done, reveal a desire to dominate the Iranian nation,” Iran’s supreme leader said.
These statements came hours after Donald Trump’s announcement that Tehran was seeking a deal, but also as Iran’s naval forces continued exercises in the Strait of Hormuz, now conducting a regular rehearsal of closing the Straits.
According to what was announced, parts of the Straits of Hormuz will be closed for a few hours today for “precautionary reasons” for the safety of navigation, as the Revolutionary Guards conduct military exercises in the channel.
The Straits are the vital oil export route connecting the Gulf’s biggest oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
Second round of negotiations
At the same time, however, the delegations from the US and Iran have started the new round of indirect talks in Geneva, with the object of Tehran’s nuclear program. A senior Iranian official said progress in the talks would depend on Washington avoiding what he called “unrealistic demands” as the US builds up its military presence in the wider region.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are participating in the talks on the American side, with the mediation of Oman, while Iran is represented by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
The two sides are returning to the negotiating table after talks on February 6 in Muscat, the capital of Oman, in a climate of heightened tension following an escalation in bilateral relations and an exchange of threats.
