Trump warns Iran an ‘armada’ is heading its way and to agree a nuclear deal, or else

U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran on Wednesday that an “armada” was heading toward it and that it should “make a deal” with the U.S. on its contested nuclear program or face a large-scale U.S. military attack.

“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,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

“Like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary,” he added.

Trump said he hoped Iran would come to the table to negotiate “a fair and equitable deal” regarding its nuclear weapons program.

“Time is running out, it is truly of the essence,” Trump said.

“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,” the president added.

‘Operation Midnight Hammer’ refers to a U.S.-led operation in June 2025 to destroy several key Iranian nuclear facilities that the U.S. said were being used to enrich uranium for use in nuclear weapons.

It’s not the first warning to Tehran that U.S. military assets were being moved toward the Middle East. Last week, Trump said an “armada” was heading toward Iran but that he hoped he didn’t have to use it. That warning came after authorities’ brutal clampdown on nationwide protests in Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Wednesday that he had not been in contact with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in recent days or requested negotiations, Reuters reported, citing Iranian state media.

The U.S. has used a variety of sanctions targeting Iran’s illicit oil trade, as well as military threats and action, to try to bring Tehran to the negotiating table to halt its nuclear program.

Trump pulled the U.S. out of an Obama-era nuclear deal in 2018, during his first term in office, saying the deal was “decaying and rotten.”

Trump said in March 2025 that he wanted to renegotiate a nuclear deal with Iran after reimposing a “maximum pressure” campaign on the Islamic Republic but efforts to renew talks appear to have failed.

Iran was back on the president’s radar last month, however, after public unrest erupted over ongoing economic hardship in the country and its religious-conservative leadership.

Iran’s security services’ crackdown on the protests, mass arrests and threatened executions prompted Trump to warn Iran that he would use military action against the country if it “violently kills” protestors. He then suggested the threat had worked, leading to a temporary de-escalation of tensions with the White House.

Some reports suggest that the death toll during the unrest could top 30,000 people, but Iranian-focused human rights group HRANA says 6,221 people are confirmed to have died, while over 17,000 deaths are still under investigation. The total number of arrests has reached 42,324, HRANA reported Tuesday.