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WASHINGTON — In a bold rebuke, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei challenged President Trump, suggesting that despite the formidable U.S. naval strength in the area, their forces could be “struck so forcefully, they wouldn’t recover.”
This taunt from the 86-year-old leader coincided with diplomatic discussions in Geneva involving mediators from Washington and Tehran, aiming to address Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the broader friction between the nations.
“The American President boasts of having the world’s mightiest military, but even the mightiest can sometimes be struck down so severely it struggles to rise,” Khamenei remarked, as reported by Iranian news outlets.
The leader, who has recently been criticized for a harsh suppression of widespread protests resulting in over 7,000 deaths according to human rights groups, also issued threats on X, alluding to the potential destruction of U.S. warships.
“The Americans constantly say that they’ve sent a warship toward Iran,” Khamenei’s team posted on his English X account. “Of course, a warship is a dangerous piece of military hardware. However, more dangerous than that warship is the weapon that can send that warship to the bottom of the sea.”
In a show of defiance, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard initiated military exercises in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf, and the Gulf of Oman, further intensifying the standoff with the United States.
Trump has not ruled out the use of military force against the theocratic regime, and his military buildup in the region mirrors the one he amassed near Venezuela before the Jan. 3 raid to capture strongman Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
“It seems like that would be the best thing that could happen,” Trump told reporters Friday when asked about the possibility of regime change in Iran.
When asked if the US could target the Tehran regime’s nuclear sites again, Trump replied, “If we do it, that would be the least of the mission.”