WASHINGTON — Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei openly taunted President Trump, insinuating that the US military, which has amassed a powerful naval presence in the region, could be “slapped so hard, it cannot get up.”
The 86-year-old tyrant’s scorn came as mediators for Washington and Tehran met in Geneva to discuss Iran’s nuclear programs and broader tensions between the two countries.
“The U.S. President says their army is the world’s strongest, but the strongest army in the world can sometimes be slapped so hard it cannot get up,” Khamenei chided, in comments published by Iranian media.
The dictator — whose brutal crackdown on nationwide protests last month has killed at least 7,000, according to human rights organizations — also threatened on X to sink US 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.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard commenced drills in the critical chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman as tensions with the US escalate.
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.”
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