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Leader: Weapons that can sink US carriers ‘more dangerous’ than warships
“The American president [Donald Trump] repeatedly says that their military is the strongest in the world. The strongest military in the world, however, can sometimes be struck so hard that it cannot even get back on its feet,” Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday while addressing thousands of people from East Azarbaijan Province, Press TV reported.
“They keep saying, ‘We have sent an aircraft carrier toward Iran.’ Fine—an aircraft carrier is certainly a dangerous piece of equipment. But more dangerous than the carrier is the weapon capable of sending it to the bottom of the sea,” he added.
Trump’s remarks that Washington has been unable to eliminate the Islamic Republic for the past 47 years is “quite an admission,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
“For 47 years, America has failed to destroy the Islamic Republic,” he said, before addressing Trump and adding, “I say this: you will not be able to do so in the future either.”
The warning comes as US President Donald Trump has deployed military forces to the region, threatening to launch attacks on Iran.
US officials said on February 12 that the Pentagon was sending an additional aircraft carrier to the region, adding thousands more troops along with fighter aircraft and guided-missile destroyers.
“In case we don't make a deal, we'll need it,” Trump said on Friday, referring to USS Gerald R. Ford.
The military buildup comes as Iran and the US are holding indirect talks about the nuclear issue, months after the US-Israeli aggression on Iranian soil and attacks on peaceful nuclear facilities.
On Sunday, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi warned Trump over his war rhetoric.
“Trump should know that he would be entering a confrontation that gives harsh lessons, the outcome of which would ensure that he no longer bellows threats around the world,” he said.
Elsewhere in his address, Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the ongoing indirect talks between Tehran and Washington.
“These remarks the US president makes—at times issuing threats, at times saying this must be done or that must not be done—show that they are seeking to dominate the Iranian nation,” he said.
“They say, ‘Let us negotiate over your nuclear energy,’ and the outcome of the negotiation should be that you no longer possess this energy,” he said, adding, “To predetermine the outcome before talks even begin is wrong and foolish.”
“This is precisely the foolish approach being taken by American presidents, certain senators, the current president, and others,” he added.