TEHRAN, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Saturday the country's navy is ready to inflict "new bitter defeats" on the United States and Israel, according to the official news agency IRNA.
He made the remarks in a message on the occasion of Iran's Army Day, which falls on April 18, while praising the Iranian army for its fight against the "enemies."
Khamenei said during the recent 40-day war, Iran's army has been "courageously" defending the country's soil in tandem with other Iranian armed forces against the United States and Israel, exposing their "weakness and humiliation" to the world.
He added as the army's drones "thunderously" hit the U.S. and Israeli targets, "its brave Navy is ready to give the enemies the bitter taste of new defeats."
On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and U.S. assets in the Middle East and tightened control over the Strait of Hormuz by denying safe passage to vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States.
A two-week ceasefire was announced between the warring parties on April 8, which was followed by peace talks between the Iranian and U.S. delegations in Pakistan's capital Islamabad.
Citing anonymous Iranian sources, CNN reported Friday that a new round of U.S.-Iran talks will be held on Monday in Pakistan.
This came as Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Saturday no date has been set yet for the second round of the negotiations, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency.
He made the remarks in an address to reporters on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, which kicked off in the Turkish city on Friday, adding that although progress has been made in reaching an agreement in the negotiations with the United States, obstacles still remain.
The deputy foreign minister emphasized that Iran accepts no special condition outside the framework of international law, and will fulfill its obligations exactly within that framework. ■
