Iran, Russia And China Stage Show Of Force Near US Warships As Nuclear Talks Wrap
(Photo by -/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Iran has been joined by Russia and China in a joint naval exercise in the Strait of Hormuz, increasing tensions in the region even as diplomats from Washington and Tehran met in Geneva to pursue a diplomatic solution.
Iran announced the live-fire drills in one of the world’s busiest and most strategically important waterways, scheduling them to coincide with ongoing U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations. Russian and Chinese vessels are participating in the joint “Maritime Security Belt-2026” exercises, which are taking place across mid-February.
In response to rising tensions, the United States has deployed hundreds of aircraft and additional naval forces to the Middle East, including two aircraft carriers. Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that the regime is prepared to use weapons capable of sinking U.S. ships “to the bottom of the sea.” Russian presidential aide Nikolay Patrushev told the Russian newspaper Argumenty i Fakty that Moscow aims to support a “multipolar world order on the oceans.”
“We will tap into the potential of BRICS, which should now be given a full-fledged strategic maritime dimension,” Patrushev said. On Tuesday, Iran temporarily closed parts of the Strait of Hormuz as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) carried out live-fire exercises.
The drills coincided with the conclusion of the second round of U.S.-Iran talks in Geneva. The U.S. delegation was led by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner, while Iran was represented by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
The negotiations focused mainly on Iran’s nuclear program. U.S. and Israeli officials have sought to expand discussions to include Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities, but Tehran rejected that proposal. Both sides agreed on the main “guiding principles” during the second round, though significant details remain to be resolved, Araghchi said.
“Progress was made, but there are still a lot of details to discuss,” a U.S. official told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The Iranians said they would come back in the next two weeks with detailed proposals to address some of the open gaps in our positions.”
The United States began sending additional military assets to the region in late January to reinforce “regional security and stability.” The USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier, was deployed on Friday to join the USS Abraham Lincoln and a growing force of guided-missile destroyers, fighter jets, and surveillance aircraft.
Despite projecting a diplomatic stance in Geneva, Iranian leaders have continued their provocations against the U.S. and President Donald Trump.
Les Américains répètent sans cesse qu’ils ont envoyé un porte-avions vers l’Iran. Eh bien, un porte-avions est certes un engin dangereux, mais plus dangereux que le porte-avions est l’arme qui peut couler ce porte-avions au fond de la mer.
— Ayatollah Khamenei (@fr_Khamenei) February 17, 2026
“Americans keep endlessly repeating that they’ve sent an aircraft carrier toward Iran,” Khamenei wrote on X Tuesday. “Well, an aircraft carrier is certainly a dangerous machine, but more dangerous than the aircraft carrier is the weapon that can sink that aircraft carrier to the bottom of the sea.”
“The strongest army in the world may at times receive such a slap that it cannot rise,” Khamenei added. General Mohammad Reza Naghdi, senior advisor to the IRGC, warned that “the United States is finished” and claimed that even 12 aircraft carriers would be powerless.
President Trump has emphasized his preference for a diplomatic resolution but has also warned that a failure to reach an agreement could trigger a military response, which he described as potentially “very traumatic” for Iran. Ahead of the talks, Trump suggested that “regime change” in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen.”
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