US Warships Head Toward Iran as Trump Warns Against Killing Protesters

President Trump said Thursday that the United States has an "armada" heading toward Iran, though he expressed hope he would not have to use it. The warning came as he renewed threats against Tehran over its crackdown on protesters and its nuclear program.

U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers will arrive in the Middle East in the coming days. One official said additional air-defense systems were also being considered for the region, which could help protect U.S. bases against potential Iranian strikes.

The deployments expand the military options available to Trump, both for defending U.S. forces and for taking additional action after American strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June.

The moves come as the death toll from Tehran's crackdown on nationwide protests has risen past 5,000, according to activists. A United Nations fact-finding mission said Friday that the crackdown is the deadliest since the Islamic Republic's establishment following the 1979 revolution.

Tehran dismissed as "completely false" Trump's repeated claims that his threats had stopped the planned executions of more than 800 protesters. Trump had warned that such killings would be a trigger for U.S. military action.

Iran claims to have restored order following demonstrations that spread late last year over the country's collapsing currency and spiraling prices. Experts monitoring the situation, however, say the unrest remains an existential crisis for the regime.