President Donald Trump warned late Thursday that the United States is moving a significant naval force toward Iran as unrest continues to spread across the country, even as he questioned whether military action would ultimately be necessary.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while traveling from Davos, Switzerland, back to Washington, Trump said the U.S. is positioning a large fleet in the region in response to the escalating situation inside Iran.
“We have a big flotilla going in that direction,” Trump said. “We have a big force going toward Iran. I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re watching them very closely.”
The president said the deployment is meant as a warning to Tehran as nationwide demonstrations against the regime intensify. Trump has repeatedly condemned Iran’s leadership for its violent response to protesters and has threatened consequences if executions are carried out.
Trump claimed Thursday that his warning directly prevented Iranian authorities from executing hundreds of people. According to the president, Iran’s leadership had planned to hang 837 individuals before backing down.
“I said if you hang those people, you’re going to be hit harder than you’ve ever been hit,” Trump said. “They actually said they cancelled it. They didn’t postpone it, they cancelled it. So that was a good sign.”
The president emphasized that while the U.S. military presence is substantial, he hopes force will not be required.
“But we have an armada,” Trump said. “We have a massive fleet heading in that direction and maybe we won’t have to use it. We’ll see.”
Iranian officials quickly disputed Trump’s account. On Friday, Iran’s top prosecutor dismissed the president’s claims that he halted planned hangings, calling the assertions “completely false.”
The warnings and denials come amid weeks of intense anti-government protests across Iran. Demonstrations have been met with a violent crackdown by Iranian security forces, with reports indicating that more than 3,300 people have been killed during clashes since the unrest began.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has blamed the United States for the turmoil, accusing Washington of orchestrating the protests as part of a broader effort to destabilize the regime. In a series of posts on social media Saturday, Khamenei claimed the U.S. was attempting to undermine Iran from within.
“We do not intend to lead the country toward war,” Khamenei wrote. “However, we will not just let go of the criminals inside the country either.”
He went on to suggest that foreign powers bear even greater responsibility for the unrest.
“Worse than the internal criminals are the international criminals,” Khamenei added. “We will not let go of them either.”
Trump has consistently rejected claims that the U.S. is orchestrating the protests, instead framing the unrest as a grassroots uprising against what he has described as a brutal and corrupt regime. He has argued that the Iranian people deserve freedom and that the United States will not ignore mass executions or widespread violence against civilians.
The president’s comments underscore his strategy of pairing pressure with deterrence, using the visible presence of U.S. military power while stopping short of committing to direct action. Whether the growing American naval presence will remain a warning or escalate further remains unclear, as the crisis inside Iran continues to unfold.
