Iran’s leader threatens to sink a US warship as nuclear talks conclude, with military drills and sanctions relief demands heightening Gulf tensions.
GENEVA: Iran’s supreme leader warned the country could sink a US warship as fresh nuclear talks concluded in Switzerland.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s threat follows a US military build-up in the Gulf as President Donald Trump pressures Iran for a nuclear deal.
The Omani-mediated talks aimed to avert potential US military action, with Tehran demanding crippling US sanctions be lifted.
An AFP journalist saw both delegations leave the talks venue at the Omani ambassador’s residence on Tuesday afternoon.
Trump had warned of consequences if Tehran failed to strike a deal, having repeatedly threatened military intervention.
Washington has positioned the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier about 700 kilometres from the Iranian coast.
A second carrier was dispatched recently as Trump ratcheted up pressure.
“I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal,” Trump told reporters ahead of the talks.
Khamenei responded with tough rhetoric after the talks began, stating Iran possessed weapons able to sink an American warship.
“We constantly hear that they have sent a warship towards Iran. A warship is certainly a dangerous weapon, but even more dangerous is the weapon capable of sinking it,” he said in a speech.
He added that Trump would not succeed in destroying the Islamic republic.
Iran insists talks be limited to the nuclear issue, though Washington has pushed to discuss Tehran’s ballistic missiles and regional proxies.
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said the lifting of sanctions must be an integral part of any deal.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard began war games in the Strait of Hormuz to prepare for “potential security and military threats”.
Iranian politicians have repeatedly threatened to block the strait, a strategic route for global oil and gas shipments.
State TV reported Tehran would close parts of the waterway for “safety” measures during the ongoing drills.
A previous diplomatic attempt collapsed last year after Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran, beginning a 12-day war.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday, “We’re hopeful there’s a deal.”
“The president always prefers peaceful outcomes and negotiated outcomes to things,” he added.
Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi said on X he came to “Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal”.
He added there would be no “submission before threats”.
The West fears Iran’s nuclear programme aims to build a bomb, a claim Tehran denies.
Washington dispatched Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner to Geneva.
On Friday, Trump said a change of government in Iran would be the “best thing that could happen”.
Analyst Ali Fathollah-Nejad said Iran faces an “existential dilemma” between sanctions relief and undermining its ideological standing.