Trump sends "massive fleet" to the Middle East.
While the entire world has turned its gaze toward Greenland, United States President Donald Trump revealed that he is sending a "massive fleet" of naval forces toward Iran, warning that Washington is "watching very closely" Tehran, though leaving open the possibility that military involvement may not be necessary. Speaking Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump mentioned that Iran "wants to talk" and that the US and Iran will move toward negotiations, without providing further details. "We have a large force headed toward Iran. I’d prefer that nothing happens, but we’ll see. We’re watching them very carefully. We have an armada, a massive fleet headed that way, and maybe we won’t have to use it. We’ll see," he stated characteristically. Trump had stated on Wednesday (January 21, 2026) that he hopes further action in Iran will not be required as a carrier strike group approaches the region, claiming that his warnings prevented the execution of 837 people by the Iranian regime.
Strike group headed to the Middle East
According to Reuters, a US military formation including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, several destroyers, and warplanes is expected to arrive in the Middle East in the coming days.
The strike group is moving from the Asia-Pacific region, despite Trump’s statements regarding diplomacy following the bloody suppression of protests in Iran. Simultaneously, Washington is considering the deployment of additional anti-aircraft defense systems in the region.
Over 20,000 civilians dead in crackdown, according to UN
The number of civilians killed in the crackdown on protests in Iran may exceed 20,000, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Mai Sato, stated on Thursday, citing reports from doctors inside the country. This information was reported by Bloomberg. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has also become involved in the war landscape, stating in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian that Ankara opposes any form of foreign intervention in Iran and seeks peace and stability in the country.
Testimonies of massacres and pressure on victims' families
Eyewitness accounts from the industrial city of Fooladshahr, near Isfahan, speak of a "massacre" of protesters and intense pressure on the families of victims. According to messages sent to Iran International, families were forced to keep a child's body in their home all night, covering it with ice provided by neighbors, as burial was not permitted. Residents reported that families were forced to wait in long lines to wash the bodies of the dead, while security forces pressured them to register the deaths as losses of the Basij paramilitary force, which is subordinate to the Revolutionary Guards. In one case, a 16-year-old was killed by shotgun pellets, with his mother forced to wash successive corpses at the Bagh-e Rezvan cemetery to identify her son’s body—an image that, according to those present, captures the scale and unprecedented nature of the killings.
Minor hid in body bag to survive
The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) revealed that an injured protester, who remained motionless inside a plastic body bag for three days out of fear of being executed, was a minor under the age of 18. According to the organization, the teenager was transported along with deceased protesters to the Kahrizak Forensic Center, south of Tehran, where he remained still until his family located him alive. As he testified, he heard mobile phones ringing among the corpses and smelled the intense stench of decomposition. He also described that every time groans from the injured were heard, gunfire and silence followed, an element that, according to the IHRDC, indicates summary executions of the wounded.
Pahlavi calls on Trump to attack Iran
The exiled prince of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, speaking to Fox News, called on Trump to proceed with a military attack against Iran, arguing that only the "neutralization of the regime's mechanisms of suppression" can change the balance of power. Trump, for his part, stated that he backed down from an attack when Iran retreated from plans for mass executions, while in a post, he had encouraged Iranian protesters to occupy institutions, writing "HELP IS ON ITS WAY."
EU considers sanctions against Iranian officials
The European Union is proposing the imposition of sanctions against Iran's Interior Minister and 14 other senior officials for their role in the violent suppression of protests, according to documents cited by RFE/RL. The sanctions include asset freezes and travel bans and are expected to be considered on January 29 in Brussels.
Iran threatens legal action against the US
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that Tehran is planning international legal action against the US, accusing Washington of supporting "terrorist riots." As he stated, Trump's threats against Ali Khamenei constitute an "unacceptable action" against an independent state, adding that Iran is collecting documentation on "hostile interventions" and the recent clashes.
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