U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of a large concentration of American warships toward Iran, signaling a sharp escalation in tensions between Washington and Tehran, even as he suggested the force may ultimately not be used.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while returning from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump said the move was precautionary.
“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.
“We have an armada, a massive fleet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it. We’ll see.”
The remarks come amid heightened strain between the two countries following weeks of unrest in Iran and increasingly sharp rhetoric from both sides.
Earlier, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander-in-chief, Major General Mohammad Pakpour, warned the United States and Israel against what he described as “any miscalculation,” cautioning that such actions could lead to what he called a “more painful and regret-inducing fate.”
Pakpour said Iranian forces were on high alert and fully prepared to act on the orders of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stressing that the country’s military readiness was at its highest level.
Concerns over possible U.S. military action intensified during protests that swept across Iran between December and January. During that period, Trump publicly warned Tehran against the use of force on demonstrators and said the United States was “locked and loaded” to respond if civilians were harmed.
Iranian authorities have accused the United States and Israel of fueling the unrest. Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said earlier this week that Washington’s threats encouraged what he described as a strategy of “maximum bloodshed” by external actors.
In a televised address last Saturday, Supreme Leader Khamenei strongly condemned Trump, blaming him for casualties and damages suffered during the unrest and describing the U.S. president as criminally responsible for the situation.
Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported on Wednesday that at least 3,117 people died during the nationwide protests, including civilians and members of the security forces.
Despite the naval deployment, Trump’s comments suggested uncertainty over whether the show of force would translate into direct military action, as diplomatic tensions between the two longtime adversaries continue to mount.