GENEVA — Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Tuesday that US attempts to topple the government in Tehran would fail, as the two countries began a new round of indirect talks in Geneva aimed at resolving their long-running nuclear dispute amid a US military buildup in the Middle East.Just a few hours after the negotiations began, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported that parts of the strategic Strait of Hormuz will close for a few hours due to “security precautions” while Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards conduct military drills in the world’s most vital oil export route.Tehran has in the past threatened to shut down the strait to commercial shipping if it is attacked, a move that would choke off a fifth of global oil flows and drive up crude prices.The US, which joined Israel in bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities in June, has deployed a battle force to the region and President Donald Trump has said “regime change” in Iran may be the best thing that can happen.Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One ahead of the latest talks, Trump said he would be involved “indirectly” in the Geneva talks and that he believed Iran wanted to make a deal.”I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal,” Trump said. “We could have had a deal instead of sending the B-2s in to knock out their nuclear potential. And we had to send the B-2s.”Khamenei responded to Trump’s threats of military action by saying: “More dangerous than an aircraft carrier is the weapon that can send it to the bottom of the sea.”Khamenei also accused the US of attempting to predetermine the outcome of negotiations and said that would be a “wrong and foolish thing to do”.”The US 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,” the supreme leader while speaking peaking to Iranians in the province of East Azerbaijan on Tuesday.A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday the success of the Geneva talks hinged on the US not making unrealistic demands and on its seriousness on lifting crippling economic sanctions on Iran.Iran says Tuesday’s meeting, mediated by Oman, will focus on its nuclear program and the potential lifting of economic sanctions imposed by the US.Washington has previously indicated it wants to discuss other issues as well, such as Iran’s missile development.Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met with the UN nuclear watchdog chief on Monday, saying in a post on X he was in Geneva to “achieve a fair and equitable deal”.”What is not on the table: submission before threats,” Araqchi said.The US has also reportedly sent the USS Gerald R Ford, the world’s largest warship, to the Middle East, which could arrive in the region within the next three weeks.Iran has responded to the US build-up with its own show of force. On Monday the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched a maritime drill in the Strait of Hormuz, located in the Gulf between Oman and Iran.Washington has dispatched Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the White House said on Sunday.Both were involved in indirect talks in Oman earlier in February, which Araghchi, who led the Iranian delegation, described afterward as a “good beginning”.While talks with the United States are underway in Geneva, Iranians will mark the end of the traditional Iranian Islamic 40-day mourning period for loved ones killed during the brutal crackdown on protesters.Thousands were killed over a few days in early January, as huge anti-government protests brought the regime to its greatest moment of peril in decades.It is not yet clear whether this week’s ceremonies will remain quiet, cloistered affairs or prove an occasion for Iranians to renew their rage against the regime.The Iranian government will be holding rites of its own to commemorate the “martyrs” killed in the cause of “Iran’s determination against destabilization,” according to IRNA, the state news agency.The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), the elite wing of the regime’s military, said Tuesday would provide a moment to reflect on Iran’s “steadfastness” against what it described as a “complex US-Israeli plot to destabilize the country.” — Agencies
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