Trump sends 'massive armada' of US ships including flagship aircraft carrier to Iran with threat of 'major destruction'

The US president made the claims in his latest Truth Social post, where he also warned that "time is running out" for the Tehran dictatorship to drop its nuclear programme.

Describing the fleet, Trump said: "Like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing and able to rapidly fulfil its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary."

He called on Iran's ruling regime to come to the table and negotiate a "fair and equitable deal" that would stop it from having nuclear weapons.

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Trump added that the next attack on Iran will be "far worse" than the June strikes, which targeted three of the country's uranium enrichment facilities.

Responding to the US president, the Iranian regime warned it would be "ready to defend itself" if fighting broke out.

The White House has been considering military intervention in Iran over the last few weeks in response to the Ayatollah's brutal crackdown on the anti-regime protests, which has reportedly left as many as 30,000 dead.

According to the American leader, Washington has sent out a "larger fleet" than what was recently seen around Venezuela before President Nicolás Maduro was captured, including the United States Navy's Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group.

The flagship fleet entered the Central Command’s zone of responsibility on Monday, after being redirected from operations in the Indo-Pacific.

The move prompted a senior Iranian official to warn that any attack on the nation would be treated "as an all-out war against us".

The unnamed official told Reuters: "This military ‌build-up - we hope it is ‌not intended for real confrontation - but our military is ready for the worst-case scenario. This is why everything is on high alert in Iran."

They added: "This time we will treat any attack - limited, unlimited, surgical, kinetic, whatever they call it - as an all-out war against us, and we will respond in the hardest way possible to settle this."

Earlier on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said: "Conducting diplomacy through military threat cannot be effective or useful."

Protests broke out in Iran towards the very end of 2025 as locals looked to demonstrate against the dire economic conditions they lived in under the Islamic Republic.

But the crowds were met with a violent response, with human rights groups estimating tens of thousands were killed.

Former security minister Tom Tugendhat said the presence of a US armada in the Middle East means Trump will "more likely than not" authorise military action.

"How close to taking that decision the US is, I can't tell you, only the US can tell you that. But it certainly seems that they are not just getting battle ready, they're getting diplomatically ready," he told Sky News.

Tehran and Washington may still reach a deal, but to do so the Iranian regime would have to agree to Trump's unfavourable terms.

This includes giving up its nuclear enrichment entirely, relinquishing its long-range missiles, and ending support for armed groups in the region.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful and has repeatedly denied seeking to develop nuclear weapons.