Trump says US 'armada' is heading toward Iran

A U.S. military aircraft carrier strike group and other assets are expected to arrive in the Middle East in the coming days, two U.S. officials confirmed Thursday (January 22). The announcement comes as U.S. President Donald Trump expressed hopes of avoiding new military action against Iran.

Trump said Thursday that there was a “big force” moving toward Iran and that he was monitoring the country “very closely.”

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, along with several destroyers and fighter aircraft, began moving from the Asia-Pacific region last week. This deployment comes amid rising tensions between Iran and the United States, following a severe crackdown on protests across Iran in recent months.

One official said additional air defense systems were also being considered for deployment in the Middle East. Experts note that the United States often increases troop levels in the region during periods of heightened tensions, which can be defensive in nature.

However, the U.S. military conducted a major buildup last summer prior to launching strikes against Iran’s nuclear program in June 2025. Officials later highlighted that the U.S. had kept its intention to strike a secret.

Trump had repeatedly threatened military action against Iran over the recent killings of protesters. However, protests in Iran diminished last week, and Trump’s rhetoric toward Iran has eased. He has shifted his focus to other geopolitical issues, including a proposed U.S. interest in Greenland.

On Wednesday (January 21), Trump said he hoped there would be no further U.S. military action in Iran, but added that the United States would act if Tehran resumed its nuclear program.

“They can’t do the nuclear,” Trump told CNBC during an interview in Davos, Switzerland, referring to the major U.S. air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025. “If they do it, it’s going to happen again.”

It has been at least seven months since the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), last verified Iran’s stock of highly enriched uranium. The agency’s guidance states that such verification should occur monthly.

Iran must file a report with the IAEA detailing what happened to the sites struck by the United States and to nuclear material believed to be stored there. This includes an estimated 440.9 kg of uranium enriched to up to 60% purity, close to the 90% weapons-grade level. According to an IAEA standard, this is enough material, if further enriched, for 10 nuclear bombs.

It remains unclear whether protests in Iran could surge again. The protests began on December 28 as modest demonstrations in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar over economic hardship and quickly spread nationwide.

The U.S.-based rights group HRANA said it has verified 4,519 unrest-linked deaths, including 4,251 protesters, 197 security personnel, 35 minors, and 38 bystanders. HRANA also has 9,049 additional deaths under review. An Iranian official told Reuters that the confirmed death toll until Sunday was more than 5,000, including 500 security personnel.

-Production: Eva Weininger/Reuters