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Akbar Novruz

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United States President Donald Trump said a US naval “armada” was heading towards the Gulf region, with Iran being the focus, as officials said an aircraft carrier strike group and other assets would arrive in the Middle East in the coming days, Azernews reports via CNBC.

“We’re watching Iran,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Thursday as he flew back from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “We have a big force going towards Iran,” Trump said. “I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re watching them very closely,” he said.

“And maybe we won’t have to use it … 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 added. Trump’s announcement on the US naval buildup comes after he appeared to back-pedal last week on his threats of military action against Iran after he said, receiving assurances that Tehran would carry out no executions of protesters.

Trump’s confirmation of continued military preparations in the region follows US media reports from the past week that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and its strike group of vessels were ordered to divert from maneuvers in the South China Sea to the Middle East. Speaking on Thursday, Trump reiterated that his earlier threats to use force against Tehran had stopped authorities in Iran from executing more than 800 protesters, and he again said he was open to talking with the country’s leadership.

Iranian officials have denied plans to execute people who had taken part in the widespread anti-government protests that began in late December and which Iranian state media said left 3,117 people dead, including 2,427 civilians and members of the security forces. Speaking to US broadcaster CNBC on Wednesday, Trump said he hoped there would not be further US military action against Iran, but also said the US would act if Tehran resumed its nuclear programme.

“They can’t do the ​nuclear,” Trump told CNBC in an interview in Davos.

“If they do it, it’s going to happen again,” the president said, referring to US air ‌strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025 when Washington joined Israel’s 12-day war on the country.

Washington last ordered a major military build-up in the Middle East in advance of ‍its attacks in June, and officials later boasted about how it had kept its intention to strike Tehran’s nuclear programme a secret at the time.