Iran shuts Strait of Hormuz for military drills amid growing US tensions
Ali Khamenei was unnerved by the rapid build-up of American military forces in the Persian Gulf, sent by Donald Trump to pressure the Islamic Republic into a new nuclear deal.
Iran has shut down the Strait of Hormuz for the first time since the late 1980s amid the increased US military presence in the Arabian Sea.
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Tensions between the two countries have continued to mount this week as Donald Trump ramps up America's military forces in the Persian Gulf to pressure the Islamic Republic into a new nuclear deal.
In response, Iranian news agencies reported that Iran's Islamic rulers temporarily closed parts of the strait to allow the Revolutionary Guard to carry out military drills.
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The live-fire naval exercises, which were broadcast on state television, took place in waters close to the US fleet.
It was the first time the vital waterway, through which 20 per cent of the world's oil passes, has been closed since the 1980s Iran-Iraq war.
Tehran may have used this unusual move to signal the potential impact on the world economy of a US attack on Iran, as oil prices have historically skyrocketed when the Strait's passage is impacted and fuel is unable to get through.
The impact of Tuesday's closure is not yet known.
The US military's Central Command did not immediately comment on the closure or Iran's live fire drills.
The Strait of Hormuz, about 21 miles wide at its narrowest point, connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman.
Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman have their territorial waters in the strait.
It is viewed as an international waterway through which ships can travel to the rest of the world and is a regular route for supertankers carrying oil and gas from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE and Iran.
The vast majority of it goes to markets in Asia, such as Iran's only current oil customer, China.
Most of the materials transported through the strait have "no alternative means of exiting the region", the US Energy Information Administration says.
Global energy prices have spiked in the past when the route has been threatened, including during the Israel-Iran war in June.
Iran also held a live-fire military drill in the strait in early February, after the US threatened to launch strikes amid the Islamic rulers' brutal crackdown on the nationwide anti-government protests in January.
Tensions rose further after a US Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approaching the Pentagon's flagship aircraft carrier the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.
On Tuesday, Iran’s supreme leader threatened to sink US ships to the “bottom of the sea”, after the second round of nuclear talks between the two countries concluded in Geneva.
“They constantly say we have sent an aircraft carrier towards Iran,” Ali Khamenei said.
He added: "It seems that the president of the United States keeps saying that their army is the strongest army in the world.
"The strongest army in the world may sometimes receive such a slap that it cannot get back up."
His words came after Iran's foreign minister met with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Geneva for a fresh round of nuclear negotiations.
After the talks, Mr Araghchi said both parties had reached a set of “guiding principles” that would frame future negotiations.
He added that Tehran and Washington have reached an "understanding" of an agreement during “very serious discussions”, but issues still remain to be resolved.
Both sides are set to exchange draft texts of a potential agreement before scheduling a third round of talks.
Mr Trump said on Monday he would be "indirectly" involved in the discussions and believed Iran would not threaten any potential deal.
Iran’s political establishment is looking for a show of strength after being divided over the Geneva talks and weakened by January's nationwide protests, which saw thousands killed.
Mr Khamenei's public threats may act as political cover for the compromises his team is set to make in the negotiations with the US, including limits on Iran's nuclear programme.
Israel is also pressurising the White House to put limits on Iranian ballistic missile stocks, as well as its sponsorship of terrorist groups, alongside the nuclear issue.
Both Iran and the US expressed positive signs of a deal after the initial round of discussions took place in Oman 10 days ago.
Despite the promising signals, Mr Trump has continued to threaten Iran with military action.
The US president recently sent the Ford, the largest warship in the world, to join the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East.
The combined force would allow the US to carry out a sustained campaign of air strikes on Iran.
Israeli officials want Mr Trump to topple the regime, but analysts are sceptical that this can be achieved from the air alone.
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, admitted on Monday that reaching a deal with Tehran would be "very difficult".
Speaking during a visit to Hungary, Mr Rubio said: "I think that there’s an opportunity here to diplomatically reach an agreement ... but I don’t want to overstate it either. It’s going to be hard."