Iran stepped up its warnings to the US over its military presence in the region, as Tehran said it will close the Strait of Hormuz for several hours for live military exercises.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Tehran announced that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) started a drill early Monday morning in the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, all crucial international shipping routes.

It marked the second time in recent weeks that Iran has held a live-fire drill in the Strait of Hormuz. However, it is the first time Iran has closed the critical maritime corridor since the US threatened Tehran with military action.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he was considering an intervention in response to Iran’s deadly crackdown on nationwide protests last month, as well as to pressure Iran into curbing its nuclear programme, which Washington claims is aiming to produce a nuclear weapon.

Last week, the US deployed its most advanced aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, to the Middle East to join another carrier already in the region, further pressuring Tehran to negotiate.

Iran, which claims its programme solely has a civilian purpose, in return said it would respond to the US with an attack on its own.

“Of course a warship is a dangerous apparatus, but more dangerous than the warship is the weapon that can sink the warship into the depths of the sea,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, according to Iranian state-run TV.

Second round of talks over

Meanwhile, Washington and Tehran concluded a second round of talks on Iran’s nuclear programme in Geneva on Tuesday.

Iranian state TV had previously reported that the indirect talks would focus on Iran’s nuclear programme, not on its domestic politics or the bloody crackdown on protesters earlier this year.

Protests began on 28 December 2025, sparked by a currency collapse and persistent hyperinflation, but quickly turned into nationwide anti-regime demonstrations, prompting Tehran’s violent crackdown and a complete information blockade.

Human rights organisations and insiders in Iran have reported that anywhere from 6,000 to 30,000 are feared killed, although precise casualty figures remain difficult. Authorities have also detained tens of thousands across the country.

In mid-January, the US president urged Iranians to keep protesting, stating “help is on the way”.

However, Trump has held off on an intervention following a restart in US-Iran talks and what Washington said was a pledge by Tehran to halt the crackdown, including any executions of arrested demonstrators.

The first round of indirect talks was held in Oman earlier this month.

Speaking to reporters Monday night aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, Trump said he planned to be involved in Tuesday’s talks, at least indirectly.

“I think they want to make a deal. I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal,” he said.

On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is leading Iran’s side in the talks, met with the head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency in Geneva.

“I am in Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal,” Araghchi wrote on X. “What is not on the table: submission before threats.”