Donald Trump has warned Iran that the next attack from the US will be ‘far worse’ as he sends more armed forces towards the Middle East.
Referencing what he called an ‘Armada’, Trump wrote on Truth Social: ‘It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose. It is a larger fleet, headed by the great Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln, than that sent to Venezuela.
‘Like with Venezuela, it is ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfil its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary.’
Trump is hoping to ‘make a deal’ with Iran and have the country give up any nuclear weapons it may have, warning of further conflict if the country doesn’t ‘come to the table’.
‘The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again,’ he warned.
The threat comes after Ayatollah Khameini, the leader of Iran, was moved into a high-security underground shelter as fears of a US attack loom.
Senior military officials have warned of a heightened risk of US attacks as protests persist across the country, and Khamenei’s forces continue killing Iranians.
A US Navy official said last week that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships travelling with it are in the Indian Ocean.
Trump has repeatedly warned Tehran, setting two red lines for the use of military force: the killing of peaceful demonstrators and the mass execution of people arrested in the protests.
Iranian authorities claim around 3,000 people were killed but US human rights group, HRANA, says the number is around 4,600.
Though Iran halted the execution of 800 people detained in the protests, Trump is still furious with how Khamenei has handled the situation.
But an Iranian official warned that any attack from the US would lead to ‘all-out war’ as Donald Trump sends an ‘armada’ to the country.
The Iranian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters: ‘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.
‘If the Americans violate Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, we will respond.
‘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.’
A giant mural was unveiled in Revolution Square in central Tehran, emblazoned with the flight deck of a damaged aircraft carrier in the style of the American flag.
But it carried an ominous message: ‘If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind’.
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