Trump says US armada heading toward Iran

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that the United States has a naval fleet heading towards Iran, although he expressed hope that it would not be necessary to use it. He reiterated his warnings to Tehran about harming protesters or restarting its nuclear activities. U.S. officials, who spoke anonymously, indicated that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers are expected to reach the Middle East soon. One official mentioned that more air-defense systems are also being considered for the region to protect U.S. bases from potential Iranian attacks. This deployment increases Trump’s options to enhance the defense of U.S. forces amid rising tensions, as well as to consider further military action after strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June. “We have a lot of ships heading that way, just in case... I’d prefer not to see anything happen, but we are monitoring them very closely,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One while returning to the United States after meetings with global leaders in Davos, Switzerland. He added, “We have an armada ... going in that direction, and maybe we won’t need to use it.” The warships began their journey from the Asia-Pacific last week due to escalating tensions between Iran and the United States following a harsh crackdown on protests in Iran. Trump had consistently warned of possible intervention due to the deaths of protesters, although the protests decreased last week. Last week, the president softened his harsh words, claiming that he had halted executions in Iran. He reiterated this on Thursday, stating that Iran had canceled nearly 840 planned hangings after his threats. “I said: ‘If you execute those people, you will face a response harsher than you’ve ever experienced. It will make what we did to your Iran nuclear program look insignificant,’” Trump remarked.