On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said that an additional “armada” of U.S. military vessels is sailing towards Iran, expressing hope that Iran will agree to a deal.
“A massive Armada is heading to Iran. 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,” he said.
Like with Venezuela, it is, 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 – one that is good for all parties.
“Time is running out, it is truly of the essence! As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL! They didn’t, and there was Operation Midnight Hammer, a major destruction of Iran. The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again,” Trump warned.
Iranian navy rolls out a welcome mat for the imperial war ships. pic.twitter.com/Ryxx8lxGrw
— tim anderson (@timand2037) January 28, 2026
One day earlier, the U.S. Central Command said the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group was deployed to the Middle East amid rising tensions with Iran.
Last week, USS George H.W. Bush departed Virginia for Europe, amid speculation that the supercarrier could be deployed to the Mediterranean and transit the Suez Canal if tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to rise.
The Pentagon also ordered U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles that were forward-deployed at Royal Air Force Lakenheath in Britain to American air bases in Jordan.
On Monday, the U.S. Air Forces Central said in a statement that “Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) will be conducting a multi-day readiness exercise to demonstrate the ability to deploy, disperse, and sustain combat airpower across the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.”
Protests not even one tenth the size of this happened in Iran and Trump sent an entire naval armada. pic.twitter.com/WHCm4O7UQY
— ADAM (@AdameMedia) January 25, 2026
The exercise will allow the U.S. military “to validate procedures for rapid movement of personnel and aircraft; dispersed operations at contingency locations; logistics sustainment with a minimal footprint; and integrated, multi-national command and control over a large area of operations,” said the statement.
Cameron Chell, a leading military drone expert, told Fox News on Sunday that Iran’s drone swarms would pose a credible and serious threat to U.S. naval assets, including the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group.
So far, there is no indication that the White House has made any decision on Iran. Trump has repeatedly said he is considering several options, including striking Iran, but also noted that Tehran “wants to talk,” suggesting that Washington may enter into discussions with Tehran.
#FromTheSouth News Bits | Middle East: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Kameni condemned the criminal actions of United States President Donald Trump against his country. pic.twitter.com/0LOC1fCQag
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) January 20, 2026