The US president said “big forces are moving towards Iran” but he would “rather not see anything happen” as tensions with Tehran rise.

US President Donald Trump says the US Navy’s “Armada” is heading to the Gulf, Iran in focusOfficials said an aircraft carrier strike group and other assets would arrive in the Middle East in the coming days.

“We’re looking at Iran,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday as he flew back from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“We have a powerful force attacking Iran,” Trump said.

“I don’t want to see anything happen, but we’re keeping an eye on them,” he said.

“Maybe we don’t have to use it… We have a lot of ships going that direction, just in case, we have a large fleet going that direction and we’ll see what happens,” he added.

Trump announces U.S. Navy buildup is on track for what he appears to be His threats changed last week He said the United States took military action against Iran after receiving assurances that Tehran would not execute protesters.

Trump confirmed that military preparations in the region would continue, after US media reported last week that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and its strike group were ordered to shift from exercises in the South China Sea to the Middle East.

Speaking on Thursday, Trump reiterated that his Earlier threats to use force The attack on Tehran has prevented Iranian authorities from executing more than 800 protesters, and he once again said he was open to dialogue with the country’s leaders.

Iranian officials have denied planning to execute people involved in widespread anti-government protests that began in late December, which state media said killed 3,117 people, including 2,427 civilians and members of the security forces.

Trump said in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday that he hoped the United States would not take further military action against Iran, but he also said the United States would take action if Tehran resumes its nuclear program.

“They can’t develop nuclear energy,” Trump told CNBC in an interview in Davos.

“If they do that, it will happen again,” the president said, referring to U.S. airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025, when Washington joined Israel in a 12-day war against the country.

Washington last ordered a major military buildup in the Middle East ahead of an attack in June, with officials later boasting about how the U.S. kept its intentions to combat Tehran’s nuclear program secret at the time.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned the United States that Tehran would “do everything possible to fight back” if attacked.

“If we are attacked again, our powerful armed forces will not hesitate to fight back with all their might,” the minister wrote.

Araghchi said his warning was not a threat “but a reality that I feel I need to communicate clearly because as a diplomat and a veteran, I hate war.”

“A full-scale confrontation would certainly be brutal and far longer than the fantasy timeline that Israel and its proxies are trying to sell to the White House,” he said.

“It will certainly sweep across the wider region and have an impact on ordinary people around the world,” he added.