Trump says US “armada” is heading towards Iran
The USS Abraham Lincoln is moving from Asia-Pacific amid growing regional tensions, while Trump says he would prefer not to have to intervene
- Tension with Iran: protests, repression and warnings from Trump
- Iranian nuclear programme, military options and post-attack warnings
- IAEA, uranium reserves and death toll in protests
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States has an “armada” on its way to Iran, although he insisted he hopes not to have to use it. At the same time, he again issued warnings to Tehran over its crackdown on protesters and a possible restart of its nuclear programme.
US sources, who requested anonymity, said the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided missile destroyers will arrive in the Middle East in the coming days. One of the officials said that the deployment of additional air defence systems in the region is also being evaluated, an option considered key to protecting US bases from a possible Iranian attack.
The deployments expand the options available to Trump, both to better defend US forces throughout the region at a time of tension and to take any additional military action after attacking Iranian nuclear sites in June.
‘We have a lot of ships in that direction, just in case... I would prefer nothing to happen, but we are watching them very closely,’ Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, returning to the United States after speaking with world leaders in Davos, Switzerland. At another point, he added, ‘We have a navy... heading in that direction, and we may not have to use it.’
Tension with Iran: protests, repression and warnings from Trump
The warships began moving from the Asia-Pacific region last week as tensions between Iran and the United States escalated following the severe crackdown on protests in Iran in recent months. Trump had repeatedly threatened to intervene against Iran over the recent killings of protesters, but the protests subsided last week. The president backtracked on his tough talk last week, claiming he had stopped the executions of prisoners.
He repeated that claim on Thursday, stating that Iran cancelled nearly 840 executions following his threats. ‘I said, “If you hang those people, you will be hit harder than you have ever been hit before. It will make what we did to your Iranian nuclear programme look insignificant,”’ Trump said. ‘An hour before this horrible event took place, they cancelled it,’ he added, calling it a ‘good sign.’
Iranian nuclear programme, military options and post-attack warnings
In the past, the US military has periodically increased its forces in the Middle East at times of high tension, measures that were often defensive. However, last year, the US military carried out a major troop build-up ahead of its June strikes against Iran's nuclear programme. Trump has said that the US would act if Tehran resumed its nuclear programme after the June strikes on key sites. ‘If they try to do it again, they'll have to go to another area. We'll hit them there too, just as easily,’ he said on Thursday.
Iran must report to the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, on the situation at the sites attacked by the United States and the nuclear material believed to be there. This includes approximately 440.9 kg of uranium enriched to 60% purity, which, if enriched sufficiently, could be enough to make 10 nuclear bombs, according to an IAEA criterion. The agency has not verified Iran's reserves of highly enriched uranium for at least seven months, which, according to the watchdog, should be done monthly.
IAEA, uranium reserves and death toll in protests
It is unclear whether protests in Iran could resurface. The protests began on 28 December as modest demonstrations in Tehran's Grand Bazaar over economic hardship and quickly spread across the country.
The US human rights group HRANA claimed to have verified 4,519 deaths related to the unrest to date, including 4,251 protesters, and has 9,049 additional deaths under review. An Iranian official told Reuters that the confirmed death toll as of Sunday exceeded 5,000, including 500 members of the security forces. When asked how many protesters had died, Trump replied, ‘Nobody knows... I mean, it's a lot, whatever it is.’