As U.S. and Iranian negotiators opened a new round of indirect nuclear talks in Geneva, Iran’s supreme leader on Tuesday delivered a blunt warning to Washington — and to President Donald Trump — that Tehran is prepared for war.

In a speech broadcast by Iranian state media, Ali Khamenei dismissed Trump’s calls for regime change and accused the United States of decades-long failure.

“In one of his recent speeches, the US president said that for 47 years America has not succeeded in destroying the Islamic Republic… I tell you: You will not succeed either,” Khamenei said.

He also issued a thinly veiled threat toward U.S. naval forces operating near Iran, referring to the deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln and its accompanying guided-missile destroyers.

“We constantly hear that [the US] has sent a warship toward Iran. A warship is certainly a dangerous weapon, but even more dangerous is the weapon capable of sinking it,” he said.

The remarks come amid rising military activity in the region, as Tehran seeks to project strength while talks continue. Iranian media reported that the country has begun live-fire exercises toward the Strait of Hormuz — a vital maritime corridor through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply passes.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency, which is close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, said missiles launched from inside Iran and along its coast struck designated targets in the strait. Iranian officials confirmed that drills began early yesterday morning in the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf, and the Gulf of Oman.

The military maneuvers follow Trump’s recent statement that regime change in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen,” further inflaming tensions as diplomats attempt to salvage progress on the nuclear file.

The latest negotiations mark a second round of indirect talks focused on Iran’s nuclear program, mediated through intermediaries amid the absence of direct diplomatic relations between Washington and Tehran.

At the same time, Iranian officials are underscoring that economic relief remains a non-negotiable demand.

“Sanctions lifting is part and parcel of any deal on the nuclear issue,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said in a video broadcast by state-run Press TV. Earlier, the Fars news agency quoted him as calling sanctions removal an “inseparable” element of any agreement.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)