Trump warns ‘massive armada’ approaching Iran as people flee country’s capital

Iranians are preparing for what they believe is an imminent attack by US forces, with many fleeing the capital city of Tehran as Donald Trump warned his “massive armada” was approaching the country.

The US President on Wednesday wrote on his Truth Social platform that the fleet, which he said was bigger than that sent to Venezuela before the capture of president Nicolás Maduro, was “ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary”.

“Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS,” Trump added.

He said that otherwise the “next attack will be far worse” than those launched during Operation Midnight Hammer – when the US struck three of the country’s nuclear facilities in June during the Iran-Israel conflict.

Dozens of Iranians who spoke to *The i Paper* said they were leaving the capital to go to stay with relatives in suburban areas on the outskirts of the city, in anticipation of a US strike.

Diplomatic movements are rapidly underway. In the past two hours, Iran’s foreign minister has spoken to Saudi and Turkish counterparts, while Iran’s president spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday night.

A senior political source in Iran told *The i Paper* that Washington has relayed a message to Tehran proposing a number of preconditions to halt hostilities. These preconditions, the source said without elaborating, would include major changes to the Islamic Republic’s core doctrine.

The source, however, emphasised that Iran — while maintaining full readiness for a worst-case scenario — does not oppose talks in principle and has repeatedly stated that the path to diplomacy remains open “if there is mutual respect and the abandonment of pressure and threats”.

“By proposing such preconditions,” the source added, “Washington is signalling that it is paving the way for an escalation of tensions rather than seeking a deal.”

Massive protests have erupted in cities across the country since 28 December, fuelled by deepening economic desperation and a plummeting national currency. Six days after the protests began, on 2 January, Trump declared that his country was “locked and loaded, and ready to go.”

“If Iran violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, after videos began circulating on social media showing Iranian forces firing live ammunition at protesters.

Caught between the Islamic Republic’s brutal use of force and the prospect of an impending US military strike, many Iranians now feel that American intervention could be a lesser evil.

“War is never good. War is brutal. But if missiles aren’t coming, the government forces will avenge their incompetence on us. I don’t know which is worse,” Asal, a 39-year-old artist, told *The i Paper*.

On Saturday, Trump said the United States had “a lot of ships going” toward the Middle East “just in case.”

Honest question. I know he’s spoken of 1 or maybe now 2 of these armadas. But isnt there many ways to determine if this is true?

It’s not really “massive” enough for a regime change. Right now the US armada is hiding behind Oman mountains in Arabian Sea precisely because getting any closer to Iran is too risky as Iran has large ant-ship missiles and drones. If the fame plan is just to compel Iran through bombing it won’t work just like the bombing of Yemen didn’t work. You need boots on the ground.

Here comes the next diversion from releasing the Epstein Files…

“No more foreign wars”, right?

Trump could strike Iran (or anywhere else in the world) with B52 and B2 bombers in a matter of hours.

Naval forces need to get within about 1,600km to launch Tomahawks, and similar for F-18 / F-35 fighters. Land bases in Qatar are close enough to strike Tehran, but the host country might not allow it. Any ship in the Persian Gulf is in range.

While the US doesn’t strictly need a strike group in the region, it does multiply their bombardment power considerably. What it does do is provide a very visible deterrance in the region.