President Donald Trump revealed on Thursday that the U.S. military is sending a “massive fleet” of warships to the Middle East and is watching Iran “very closely” to ensure that the Iranian regime does not continue to kill protesters amid weeks of nationwide protests.
Addressing reporters on Air Force One on Thursday, Trump indicated that there continues to be tension between the United States and Iran as reports show that thousands of protesters have been killed or arrested for opposing the current regime.
“We’re watching Iran. You know, 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,” the president said. “We have a big force going toward Iran. I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re watching them very closely.”
Trump told reporters on Thursday that he was able to stop Iran from following through with plans to conduct “837 hangings” in response to the anti-government protests. He suggested that it was a “good sign” that the Iranian government decided to completely cancel the expected public executions.
“I said, ‘If you hang those people, you’re gonna be hit harder than you’ve ever been hit. It’ll make what we did to your Iran nuclear look like peanuts.’ And an hour before this horrible thing was going to take place, they canceled it,” Trump stated. “But we have an armada. We have a massive fleet heading in that direction. And maybe we won’t have to use it. We’ll see.”
The Human Rights Activists News Agency reported on Thursday that the nationwide protests against the Iranian government have remained ongoing for 26 days. The agency claimed that 5,002 deaths have been confirmed and that 9,787 deaths are still being investigated. Additionally, the Human Rights Activists News Agency claimed that 26,852 individuals have been arrested and that 7,391 individuals have sustained serious injuries.
