Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Tuesday that the US warships currently deployed to the Persian Gulf "could be sunk to the bottom of the sea."
"The strongest army in the world may receive a slap it cannot recover from," Khamenei said at an event in Tehran, referring to US President Donald Trump's claim that Washington has the "strongest army" in the world.
"They keep saying that we sent a warship toward Iran. Very well, a warship is indeed a dangerous machine, but more dangerous than a warship is the weapon that can sink it to the bottom of the sea," he added.
Khamenei's comments followed recent threats by Trump against Tehran and the US military buildup in the region amid heightened tensions.
On Friday, Trump said that the USS Gerald R. Ford, described as the world's largest aircraft carrier, would soon head to the region if talks between Washington and Tehran fail.
"In case we don't make a deal, we'll need it," he said. "It'll be leaving very soon."
The USS Abraham Lincoln and a fleet of destroyers are already stationed in the Persian Gulf, having been dispatched last month amid rising tensions between the two countries.
On the ongoing nuclear negotiations, Khamenei said when a negotiation is taking place, deciding the outcome beforehand is "wrong and foolish."
The second round of indirect nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington, under Omani mediation, kicked off in Geneva on Tuesday.
The Iranian delegation, led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and the US delegation, led by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, held separate talks with Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi at the Omani Embassy in Geneva before exchanging notes.
The two sides resumed their indirect nuclear diplomacy in Muscat earlier this month, nearly eight months after talks were suspended following a 12-day war between Iran and Israel.
The negotiations are taking place with war clouds still looming amid threats from both sides.
In remarks on Sunday, Iran's top military commander, Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, warned that any war against the country would serve as "a lesson" for Trump.
