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U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered a “massive” deployment of American naval forces toward Iran, while signaling that the buildup may ultimately not be used, as tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to escalate.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while returning from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump said the United States was positioning ships in the region as a precaution.
“We have a lot of ships going that direction just in case. We have a big flotilla going in that direction. And we’ll see what happens,” he said.
Trump reiterated the point moments later, emphasizing both the scale of the deployment and the uncertainty surrounding its use. “We have an armada. We have a massive fleet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it. We’ll see,” he added.
The comments came as Iranian officials issued stark warnings to the United States and its allies. Mohammad Pakpour, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, cautioned the U.S. and Israel to “refrain from any miscalculation,” warning that such actions could lead to a “more painful and regret-inducing fate.”
Pakpour said Iranian forces were on high alert, claiming they had their “fingers on the trigger” and were fully prepared to carry out any orders from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Concerns about a potential U.S. military action increased during Iran’s December–January protests, particularly after Trump suggested the United States could intervene if Iranian authorities used force against demonstrators.
During that period, Trump repeatedly encouraged Iranians to take control of government institutions “if possible,” while stating the U.S. was “locked and loaded” to protect protesters.
Iranian officials have blamed the United States and Israel for violence and casualties during the unrest. Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said earlier this week that U.S. threats “gave plotters an incentive” to pursue what he described as a strategy of “maximum bloodshed.”
In a televised address last Saturday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Trump of responsibility for the unrest, saying he considers the U.S. president “criminal for the casualties, damages and slander he inflicted on the Iranian nation.”
According to Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, 3,117 people were killed during the unrest, with 2,427 of those classified as “innocent civilians and security forces.”
