President Donald Trump has renewed threats to take military action against Iran’s senior leadership as the country faces a violent crackdown on nationwide protests. On Thursday, he announced that a U.S. naval armada is headed to the Middle East
“We have a big flotilla going in that direction and we’ll see what happens,” Trump said aboard Air Force One while returning from Davos, Switzerland. “I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re watching them very closely.”
The warning comes after Trump previously stepped back from a promise to strike Iran, citing assurances that the country would not carry out planned executions of hundreds of protesters. Tehran has cautioned both the U.S. and Israel—whose forces targeted Iranian nuclear facilities last year—against interfering in the unrest.
Despite Trump’s earlier statements suggesting executions were halted, human-rights organizations report that the death toll from the crackdown continues to rise. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activist News Agency has verified 5,002 deaths since the protests erupted in late December, with another 9,787 cases under review and over 26,000 arrests reported.
Mai Sato, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, told ABC that the civilian death toll could exceed 20,000 based on reports from medical personnel, though the figure has not been officially verified by the UN.
The protests, the largest challenge to Iran’s regime in decades, began in Tehran following a sharp currency collapse and quickly spread nationwide, with demonstrators calling for the end of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s rule.
The situation continues to draw international attention as human-rights groups and governments monitor the escalating violence.
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