The number of confirmed fatalities in Iran since protests began on Dec. 28 has reached nearly 5,000, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran.
President Donald Trump said on Jan. 22 that the U.S. Navy has sent a large flotilla toward Iran as the Islamic regime continues to be engulfed in its largest wave of protests since the 1979 revolution.
Speaking with reporters on Air Force One on Thursday, Trump said the United States has deployed its Navy in the direction of Iran, “just in case,” as he has repeatedly warned the Iranian regime not to execute protesters or face the wrath of the U.S. military.
“We‘ll see what happens. We have a big force going toward Iran. I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re watching them very closely,” Trump said.
While Trump didn’t provide details on the deployment, ship spotters and satellite imagery have identified that the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (CSG) entered the Malacca Strait earlier this week en route to the Indian Ocean.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in Iran with the U.S. military if Tehran continues killing protesters in large waves, although he has said he is hoping to avoid a direct military conflict with the Iranian regime.
The number of confirmed fatalities in Iran since protests began on Dec. 28 has reached nearly 5,000, Human Rights Activists in Iran said on Jan. 21.
The civil rights organization is still reviewing more than 9,000 death cases and said at least 7,398 people have sustained severe injuries during the protests.
The Iranian regime has also arrested more than 26,000 people, the group said on Wednesday.
Trump told reporters on Thursday that he warned the Iranian regime that if it went forward with executing more than 800 protesters as previously planned, he would strike the country “harder than you’ve ever been hit.”
“It’ll make what we did to your Iran nuclear look like peanuts. An hour before this horrible thing was going to take place, they canceled it. And they actually said they canceled it. They didn’t postpone it. They canceled it. So, that was a good sign,” Trump said. “But we have an armada. We have a massive fleet heading in that direction. And maybe we won’t have to use it.”
Iran’s Nuclear Program
Last year, ahead of the Trump administration’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the U.S. military staged a major buildup in the waters around the Islamic nation.
Trump told CNBC on Wednesday that Iran cannot pursue a nuclear program or it will risk facing additional U.S. military strikes like the ones it received last year.
“If they do it, it’s going to happen again,” Trump said. “They have got to stop with the nuclear. … Can’t let them have it.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, last verified Iran’s stock of highly enriched uranium roughly seven months ago. The organization recommends monthly updates.
The group said Iran must file a report on the status of its nuclear sites after the U.S. strikes last year, including how much of its 440.9 kg of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent purity that is estimated to remain. This is close to roughly 90 percent weapons-grade purity, and if enriched further, could result in 10 nuclear warheads, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
By Jacob Burg
