The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rejected U.S. threats of possible military action amid the start of indirect talks between Iran and the United States in Geneva, mediated by Oman, over Tehran\u2019s nuclear program.<\/p>\n
The talks, conducted with Omani mediation, are aimed at resolving the long-standing dispute over Tehran\u2019s nuclear plans, while the United States is increasing its military presence in the Arabian Sea.<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump warned that failure to reach a deal could lead to military action.<\/p>\n
Addressing a crowd of supporters in Tehran, on February 17 Khamenei stated that Iran has the capability to sink American military ships.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is more dangerous than a warship is the weapon that can send it to the bottom of the sea\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Khamenei<\/p>\n
His comments came a day after Trump hinted at possible military action if diplomacy fails.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think they want the consequences of no deal\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Donald Trump<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could strike a deal instead of sending a B-2 to destroy their nuclear capability. And we had to send a B-2,\u201d he added, recalling possible actions in case of threat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could strike a deal instead of sending a B-2 to destroy their nuclear capability. And we had to send a B-2\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Donald Trump<\/p>\n
On February 13, the U.S. president said that regime change in Iran could be \u201cthe best thing that could happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cthe best thing that could happen\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Donald Trump<\/p>\n
Addressing Trump directly, Khamenei stressed that the U.S. president \u201cwill not be able to\u201d topple the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n
\u201cwill not be able to topple the Islamic Republic\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Khamenei<\/p>\n
Trump said he would be \u201cindirectly\u201d involved in the Geneva talks. This marks the second round of talks this year between Tehran and Washington after the initial discussions in Muscat.<\/p>\n
\u201cindirectly\u201d involved in the Geneva talks<\/p>\n
\u2013 Donald Trump<\/p>\n
Iran expressed readiness to adhere to a strict inspections regime of its nuclear facilities in exchange for the lifting of U.S. sanctions. Iran also sought to present its sanction-hit economy as a favorable investment opportunity for American companies.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Tehran rejected the possibility of talks on its missile program and support for proxy formations in the region \u2013 red lines that the U.S. administration warns must be addressed.<\/p>\n
The talks continue at the Oman consulate, where mediators exchange messages between Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the U.S. special envoy Steve Vitkoff.<\/p>\n
Against the backdrop of rising U.S. military activity in the Arabian Sea, on February 16 the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps began naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz to test the fleet\u2019s readiness for threats and potential risks.<\/p>\n
On February 17, state media reported the temporary closure of part of the strait for security reasons.<\/p>\n
As tensions with the West intensify, Iran frequently threatens to disrupt the operation of the strait \u2013 through which more than 20 percent of the world\u2019s oil passes daily.<\/p>\n
Prospects for diplomacy and regional dynamics<\/p>\n
The delicate diplomacy in Geneva continues against a backdrop of mutual push and pull: Iran sets conditions on inspections and sanctions, while the United States continues to insist on red lines related to the missile program and proxy facilities in the region. Further steps will depend on both sides\u2019 willingness to compromise and adhere to agreements during the next round of negotiations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rejected U.S. threats of possible military action amid the start…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10408,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[8065,65,4095,5436,8064,4870,1202,6338,5656,8066],"class_list":{"0":"post-10407","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-geneva","8":"tag-ali-khamenei-statement","9":"tag-geneva","10":"tag-geneva-negotiations","11":"tag-iran-nuclear-program","12":"tag-iran-us-nuclear-talks-ali-khamenei-statement-us-iran-tensions-geneva-negotiations-oman-mediation-us-military-threats-iran-nuclear-program","13":"tag-iran-us-nuclear-talks","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-oman-mediation","16":"tag-us-iran-tensions","17":"tag-us-military-threats"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}