US President Donald Trump has announced that a large American naval force is heading toward Iran, describing it as an armada that surpasses the scale of the ships previously deployed near Venezuela. He made the statement while speaking at an event at the White House.

According to Trump, the group of US Navy vessels moving in Iran’s direction exceeds the flotilla that Washington earlier positioned off the Venezuelan coast. He framed the deployment broadly, avoiding precise definitions but stressing its size and visibility.

The president had first pointed to the movement of US warships toward Iran on January 22, saying at the time that the step was taken «just in case.» When asked then about the possibility of military intervention, he refrained from giving a direct answer, noting only that future developments were impossible to predict. Earlier still, Trump had voiced support for protesters in Iran and warned the country’s authorities about the consequences of using force to suppress demonstrations.

At the same time, the White House chief said he hoped the standoff would be resolved through an agreement between Washington and Tehran. He suggested that a deal would lead to a positive outcome, while the absence of one would leave events to unfold on their own terms.

Trump also clarified that despite the transfer of substantial forces to the Middle East amid rising tensions around Iran, the US naval presence near Venezuela has not been withdrawn and remains in place.