The delicate diplomacy dance in Geneva was marred on Tuesday by a jarring dose of language from Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Speaking in Tehran on the eve of the anniversary of the 1978 Tabriz uprising, Khamenei delivered a scathing rebuttal to President Donald Trump’s repeated reference to the United States as the “strongest military force in the world.”
"Striking the Strongest."
In response to recent White House military interventions, Khamenei said sheer size and power were no assurance of immunity. “The U.S. President is always saying they have the strongest military force in the world,” Khamenei said in comments that appeared on his official platforms. “The strongest military force in the world may at times be struck so hard that it cannot get up again. The strongest army may receive a slap it cannot recover from.”
The Supreme Leader’s remarks seem to be a direct alternative to President Trump’s recent “maximum pressure” rhetoric, in which the American leader indicated that a power change in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen” and threatened “traumatic” consequences if a new nuclear deal is not struck.
Threats to U.S. Naval Assets
With the United States increasing its naval presence in the Persian Gulf, including the sending of the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to join the U.S. USS Abraham Lincoln strike group, Khamenei cautioned these assets are far from invincible. “The Americans keep claiming they’ve sent a warship to Iran.
Certainly a warship is a dangerous piece of hardware,” Khamenei said. “But much more dangerous than that warship is the weapon that can send it down to the bottom of the sea.” Simultaneously with such remarks, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard initiated the launch of live-fire missile exercises in the Strait of Hormuz, an important sea passage for 20% of the world's oil supply, signaling Tehran's willingness to disrupt international trade if provoked.
A “Good Admission” of Resilience
Khamenei also pointed to a more recent statement from President Trump, who said the U.S. has failed to eliminate the Islamic Republic for 47 years. As Khamenei said in his remarks, the latter is a “good admission” of the resilience of the regime. “I say: You too will not be able to do this,” the Supreme Leader defiantly added.
Diplomacy Under Fire
Yet behind the fiery rhetoric, indirect negotiations mediated by Oman between American and Iranian delegations had officially started in Geneva on Tuesday. The U.S. team, led by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and the Iranian team, led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, are working to refashion the 2015 nuclear agreement.
But Khamenei is skeptical, branding the American demand to decide the outcome of negotiations in advance “foolish” and “idiotic.” While the talks drag on, the shadow of a potential military confrontation looms more menacing than ever since the 2024 regional escalations.
