U.S. President Donald Trump has warned Iran that the window for negotiating a nuclear deal is closing, as American military forces continue to build up in the Gulf.
Trump said a “massive armada” was moving swiftly toward Iran, describing a powerful U.S. naval force advancing with “great power, enthusiasm, and purpose.” The fleet is led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.
Iran responded by striking a defiant but measured tone. In a statement, Iran’s mission to the United Nations said Tehran remained open to dialogue grounded in “mutual respect and interests,” but warned that if provoked it would defend itself and “respond like never before.”
Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is peaceful and has repeatedly rejected claims by the United States and its allies that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
Trump’s warning follows recent comments in which he pledged support for those caught up in a brutal crackdown on protests inside Iran earlier this month. At one point, he told demonstrators that “help is on the way,” before later saying he had been informed that executions of protesters had stopped.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) says it has verified the deaths of more than 6,301 people since unrest erupted in late December, including 5,925 protesters. HRANA is also examining reports of an additional 17,000 deaths received during an extended internet blackout. Another organisation, Norway-based Iran Human Rights, has warned the final toll could exceed 25,000.
Trump’s latest remarks appeared to refocus attention on Iran’s nuclear programme. Writing on Truth Social, he said he hoped Tehran would “quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS.”
He said the naval force in the Gulf was larger than the one deployed to Venezuela before U.S. forces seized former leader Nicolás Maduro, adding that it was “ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfil its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary.”
Referring to U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last June during Iran’s 12-day war with Israel, Trump warned that “the next attack will be far worse,” urging Tehran not to repeat past actions.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed the approach, saying diplomacy conducted through military threats was ineffective. “If they want negotiations to take shape, they must certainly set aside threats, excessive demands and raising illogical issues,” he said in televised remarks.
Using open-source data, BBC Verify has tracked an expansion of U.S. military deployments across the region. Satellite imagery shows at least 15 fighter jets arriving at Jordan’s Muwaffaq Air Base, with increased aircraft activity also observed at bases in Jordan, Qatar and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
Dozens of cargo planes and refuelling aircraft have been recorded entering the Middle East, while surveillance planes and drones have been spotted near Iranian airspace. A U.S. defence official confirmed that a naval armada led by the USS Abraham Lincoln is operating near Oman.
“In the past two weeks, the U.S. has surged naval and aerial assets to the region, significantly increasing its regional posture,” said Megan Sutcliffe, a principal analyst at risk advisory firm Sibylline.
Satellite images also show at least two U.S. guided missile destroyers and three combat ships docked in Bahrain for several months. Iran, meanwhile, has deployed the IRIS Shahid Bagheri, a drone carrier that entered service last year, just off its coast.
The most recent U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites took place last June, targeting uranium enrichment facilities at Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan under an operation codenamed “Midnight Hammer.” U.S. officials said the strikes significantly delayed Iran’s nuclear ambitions, though Iranian officials disputed that claim, saying materials had already been removed.
Iran later retaliated with missile strikes on a U.S. military base in Qatar, an attack Trump described as “very weak” and “expected.”
