Tehran, Feb. 18 -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned on Tuesday, February 17, that United States (US) warships deployed to Gulf "could be sunk to the bottom of the sea", as tensions mounted alongside live-fire military exercises in the strategic Strait of Hormuz and the resumption of nuclear talks.

Speaking at an event in Tehran, Khamenei said even the world's most powerful military could face setbacks. "The strongest army in the world may receive a slap it cannot recover from," he said, referring to US President Donald Trump's repeated assertion that Washington commands the world's strongest armed forces.

"They keep saying that we sent a warship toward Iran. Very well, a warship is indeed a dangerous machine, but more dangerous...