Trump says a U.S. ‘armada’ nears Iran as regime crackdown continues
Global News
Iran’s top prosecutor on Friday called U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that he halted the hangings of 800 detained protesters there “completely false.”
Iran’s top prosecutor on Friday called U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that he halted the hangings of 800 detained protesters there “completely false.” Meanwhile, the overall death toll from a bloody crackdown on nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 5,032, activists said.
Activists fear many more are dead. They struggle to confirm information as the most comprehensive internet blackout in Iran’s history has crossed the two-week mark.
Tensions remain high between the United States and Iran as an American aircraft carrier group moves closer to the Middle East, something Trump likened to an “armada” in comments to journalists late Thursday.
Analysts say a military buildup could give Trump the option to carry out strikes, though so far he’s avoided that despite repeated warnings to Tehran. The mass execution of prisoners had been one of his red lines for military force — the other being the killing of peaceful demonstrators.
“While President Trump now appears to have backtracked, likely under pressure from regional leaders and cognizant that airstrikes alone would be insufficient to implode the regime, military assets continue to be moved into the region, indicating kinetic action may still happen,” New York-based think tank the Soufan Center said in an analysis Friday.
Trump has repeatedly said Iran halted the execution of 800 people detained in the protests, without elaborating on the source of the claim. On Friday, Iran’s top prosecutor Mohammad Movahedi strongly denied that in comments carried by the judiciary’s Mizan news agency.
“This claim is completely false; no such number exists, nor has the judiciary made any such decision,” Movahedi said.
His remarks suggested Iran’s Foreign Ministry, led by Abbas Araghchi, may have offered that figure to Trump. Araghchi has had a direct line to U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and conducted multiple rounds of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program with him.
The U.S. Central Command said the crash followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in “friendly airspace,” and that the other plane landed safely.
Water treatment centres in the Persian Gulf region are under threat amid the Iran war, with desalination plants in areas like Bahrain taking damage from strikes.
John Gradek said that the price of jet fuel is up about 30 per cent and the cost of fuel represents about 30 per cent of an airline's operating costs.
Iran's unrelenting attacks on shipping traffic and energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf pushed oil back above $100 a barrel on Thursday.
Concerns were raised in a document sent to British Prime Minster Keir Starmer in December 2024 when he was considering appointing Peter Mandelson.
Canada and a group of dozens of other countries have agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves as the Iran war threatens the global supply.
Iran's military command said on Wednesday the world should be prepared for oil to hit US$200 a barrel, as three more ships came under attack in the blockaded Gulf.
Iran launched new attacks against Israel and Gulf Arab countries, while Israel carried out airstrikes on Iran and Lebanon, where it is battling Hezbollah militants.
The department said it is also seeing fewer Canadians take government-assisted travel options as flights gradually resume in certain parts of the region.
The war has sent oil prices surging, upending global travel, pushing airline tickets on some routes sky-high, and sparking fears of a deep travel slump.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the United States would carry out the most intense day of strikes against Iran on Tuesday.
Trump said the war would continue until Iran is 'totally and decisively defeated' and predicted it would be over 'very soon,' but denied suggestions it could end this week.
G7 finance ministers said they were monitoring the situation and were prepared to implement 'necessary measures,' but stopped short of committing to release emergency reserves.