President Donald Trump says a US “armada” is heading toward the Gulf as Washington keeps a close watch on Iran despite recently playing down the prospect of imminent military action. He told reporters on Air Force One, returning from the World Economic Forum in Davos, that the United States was sending a “massive fleet” toward Iran “just in case”, adding that he would rather avoid conflict but was monitoring Tehran “very closely”.
Trump has repeatedly kept open the option of new strikes on Iran after backing Israel’s 12 day war in June aimed at degrading Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities. He said in Davos that US attacks on Iranian uranium enrichment sites last year were intended to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon, something Iran denies.
The latest remarks come after weeks of seesaw rhetoric, with Trump at one point warning that Iran would be “wiped off the face of this Earth” if it tried to target him in retaliation for a strike on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have responded with threats, saying they have their “finger on the trigger” and warning that all US bases and interests would be “legitimate targets” if America attacked.
The tensions follow a fortnight of mass protests in Iran starting in late December that shook the clerical establishment. Iranian authorities have given an official death toll of 3,117, while rights groups say the real figure is far higher and accuse security forces, including the Guards, of firing directly at demonstrators during a crackdown accompanied by a nationwide internet blackout.
Rights monitor NetBlocks reports that the internet shutdown in Iran has now lasted more than two weeks. NGOs such as Iran Human Rights and HRANA say they have documented thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of arrests, and dismiss the authorities’ figures as lacking credibility.
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Pomp and splendour as King Charles hosts Tinubu and wife at historic UK state visit
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