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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor

Trump says US ‘armada’ heading to Middle East as Iran death toll put above 5,000

View of USS Abraham Lincoln sailing in the Indian Ocean
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (pictured) and several guided-missile destroyers will arrive in the Middle East in the coming days. Photograph: Eric S Powell/AP

Donald Trump has said an American “armada” is heading towards the Middle East and that the US is monitoring Iran closely, as activists put the death toll from Tehran’s crackdown on protesters at 5,002.

Speaking on Air Force One as he returned from the World Economic Forum in Davos overnight, he said: “We have a lot of ships going that direction, just in case. I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re watching them very closely … we have an armada … heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it.”

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