Khamenei Warns US Warships Could Sink in Gulf Talks

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Tuesday that the United States' deployed warships in the Persian Gulf could be sunk, as indirect nuclear negotiations between Washington and Tehran resumed in Geneva, Switzerland.

Khamenei's remarks came during a speech in Tehran, hours after the second round of Oman-mediated talks began at the Omani Embassy. The 86-year-old leader directly addressed recent U.S. military deployments, including the aircraft carriers USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford, which the U.S. Defense Department sent to the Middle East amid escalating tensions. "A warship is certainly a dangerous weapon, but even more dangerous is the weapon capable of sinking it," Khamenei said. He added that the world's strongest military force "may at times be struck so hard that it cannot get up again," rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump's claims of unmatched military power.

The threats followed Trump's Friday statement that regime change in Iran "would be the best thing that could happen" and his order to deploy the second carrier "in case we don't make a deal." U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have emphasized a preference for...