Trump threatens Iran on nukes, sends a 'massive armada' of ships

by · UPI

Jan. 28 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump threatened Iran on Truth Social on Wednesday, saying the country must negotiate on its nuclear weapons plan.

The president posted that "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 that like the operation in Venezuela, the "armada" "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."

If Iran doesn't "come to the table," Trump threatened to attack Iran as it did in June when he said U.S. strikes "obliterated" Iranian nuclear sites.

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"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 first warned last week that an "armada" was moving toward Iran because mass protests had resulted in the deaths of, now, more than 6,000 Iranians. Iran's government said the death toll was 3,117 last week, NBC News reported.

While the president threatened military action on Iran last week if the country executed protesters, Wednesday's threat didn't mention protests at all.

Iran responded to Trump's threat on X.

"Last time the U.S. blundered into wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, it squandered over $7 trillion and lost more than 7,000 American lives," the post said.

"Iran stands ready for dialogue based on mutual respect and interests -- BUT IF PUSHED, IT WILL DEFEND ITSELF AND RESPOND LIKE NEVER BEFORE!"

In a Telegram post, Deputy Chair of the Iranian parliament's National Security Commission Mahmoud Nabavian said recent threats of attack are just "part of the enemy's psychological warfare," NBC reported.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he would not negotiate under threats but was willing to talk without preconditions, The Guardian reported.