Trump Says «Armada» Moving Toward Iran

Speaking aboard Air Force One, Donald Trump announced that the US military was in the process of moving what he described as an «armada» of ships toward the Middle East amid rising tensions in Iran following massive protests against the government. He said «We have a lot of ships going that direction», stressing that the deployment was precautionary and «just in case». Trump added «I’d rather not see anything happen», while noting that Washington was closely monitoring the situation as estimates of the death toll from Tehran’s crackdown on protesters rose above 5,000. Emphasising the scale of the movement, he said «we have an armada» «heading in that direction», before adding «maybe we won’t have to use it», underscoring both the warning and uncertainty surrounding the deployment.

In Iran, weeks of nationwide demonstrations have shaken the country’s leadership as protesters challenge the authorities amid an increasingly severe security response, drawing condemnation from abroad. Donald Trump has addressed the unrest with sharply differentiated messages, voicing sympathy for demonstrators while issuing warnings to Iran’s leaders about the consequences of further repression. He has repeatedly framed Washington’s stance as one of pressure rather than immediate intervention. US officials have since revealed that the president stepped back from launching strikes against Iran two weeks ago, despite earlier saying that «help is on its way», after concluding that the military options presented to him would not be decisive in securing regime change in Tehran, underscoring the strategic restraint behind his rhetoric.

Tehran recently dismissed as «completely false» Donald Trump’s repeated claims that his threats of bombing Iran had forced the authorities to halt the execution of protesters. The US president had asserted that planned executions of more than 800 demonstrators were stopped because of his warnings, suggesting his rhetoric had directly altered Tehran’s actions. Iranian officials rejected that account outright, saying Trump’s statements were untrue and accusing him of fabricating a link between US threats and Iran’s internal judicial decisions. The denial added to the escalating war of words between Washington and Tehran as the Iranian leadership pushed back against what it described as external pressure and political posturing over the handling of the protest movement.