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US President Donald Trump has said that the situation in Iran remains "in flux" weeks after widespread protests resulted in the deaths of thousands of people, adding that he has deployed a "big armada" next to the country.
White House has said that an attack on Iran is still on the table, even as Trump said Tehran wants to strike a deal with the US. Earlier this month, the president reportedly postponed plans to launch an attack against Iran in response to the protests.
According to a report by Axios, Trump has not yet reached a decision and has held more consultations where he was presented with various military options.
The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group has arrived in West Asia, the US military said on Monday, dramatically boosting American firepower in the region.
The carrier and its accompanying ships were ordered to the region as Iran cracked down on mass protests. While President Donald Trump has since backed away from military action against Tehran, he has insisted all options remain on the table.
The strike group is "currently deployed to the Middle East to promote regional security and stability," US Central Command, which is responsible for American forces in the region, said in a post on X.
Trump told Axios in an interview on Monday that the United States has "a big armada next to Iran," but said Tehran is eager to talk: "They want to make a deal. I know so. They called on numerous occasions."
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said on Monday that it had confirmed the deaths of nearly 6,000 people in the wave of protests suppressed by Iran's security forces, but emphasised the actual toll could be several times higher.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has warned against intervention and said the country was "confident in its own capabilities."
In apparent reference to the Lincoln, he added: "The arrival of such a battleship is not going to affect Iran's determination and seriousness to defend the Iranian nation."
With inputs from agencies
White House has said that an attack on Iran is still on the table, even as Trump said Tehran wants to strike a deal with the US. Earlier this month, the president reportedly postponed plans to launch an attack against Iran in response to the protests.
According to a report by Axios, Trump has not yet reached a decision and has held more consultations where he was presented with various military options.
US aircraft in West Asia
The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group has arrived in West Asia, the US military said on Monday, dramatically boosting American firepower in the region.
The carrier and its accompanying ships were ordered to the region as Iran cracked down on mass protests. While President Donald Trump has since backed away from military action against Tehran, he has insisted all options remain on the table.
The strike group is "currently deployed to the Middle East to promote regional security and stability," US Central Command, which is responsible for American forces in the region, said in a post on X.
Trump told Axios in an interview on Monday that the United States has "a big armada next to Iran," but said Tehran is eager to talk: "They want to make a deal. I know so. They called on numerous occasions."
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said on Monday that it had confirmed the deaths of nearly 6,000 people in the wave of protests suppressed by Iran's security forces, but emphasised the actual toll could be several times higher.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has warned against intervention and said the country was "confident in its own capabilities."
In apparent reference to the Lincoln, he added: "The arrival of such a battleship is not going to affect Iran's determination and seriousness to defend the Iranian nation."
With inputs from agencies
