Trump warns that the fleet heading to Iran is “even bigger” than the one to Venezuela

Washington.– US President Donald Trump warned this Friday that the fleet heading to Iran is “even bigger” than the one mobilized against Venezuela, although he left the door open to a possible agreement with Tehran. «A large armada, a fleet is heading towards Iran, and it is even larger than the one we had near Venezuela (…) We will see how events unfold. I can say this: they do want to reach an agreement», assured the president during statements to the press in the Oval Office. “They were going to hang 837 people. And I told them: If they do it, they will pay a price like no one has paid before. They backed down and I appreciate it,” he added. Asked if he is giving Tehran a deadline to reach an agreement before taking military action, the Republican replied that “only they know for sure.”

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“I don’t want to talk about anything related to my military actions. But we have a tremendously powerful fleet there. We have the most powerful ships in the world. We have the most powerful army in the world, by far,” he stated. Trump said on Thursday that he is seeking a deal with the Iranian government to prevent that country from obtaining the nuclear weapon and so that “they stop killing protesters.” Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abas Araghchi, said this Friday that he was willing to negotiate with the United States a diplomatic solution to the conflict over the Iranian nuclear program despite, he said, “the lack of good will from Washington in the past.”

U.S. sanctions senior Iranian officials

The United States announced this Friday new sanctions against high-ranking Iranian officials and financial networks linked to Tehran for their role in what they call the “violent repression” of the protests. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), under the Department of the Treasury, included Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni Kalagari among those sanctioned, holding him responsible for overseeing the security forces involved in the “death and detention of thousands of peaceful protesters.” The sanctions also affect several high-ranking officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), whom Washington accuses of “leading a campaign of violence, arbitrary detentions and forced disappearances” against the civilian population in different provinces of the country, including Tehran, Hamadan, Gilan and Kermanshah. In parallel, OFAC also sanctioned businessman Babak Morteza Zanjani, whom it accuses of “embezzling” billions of dollars in Iranian oil revenues and acting as a financial intermediary for the regime after being released from prison. Zanjani allegedly financed strategic projects that benefit the IRGC and Iranian authorities.

For the first time, the U.S. government included in its sanctions list two cryptocurrency exchange platforms registered in the United Kingdom —Zedcex and Zedxion— for processing large volumes of funds linked to the IRGC and operating in the Iranian financial sector, in evasion of sanctions imposed by Washington. 

Tensions between the US and Iran

The announcement today comes amid an increase in tension between both countries and days after Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Ghariabadi indicated that he sees war with Washington as more likely than negotiation. The US nuclear aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, along with its strike group, is in the Middle East, according to a report this Monday by the United States Central Command (Centcom), following Trump’s warning to send a “huge fleet” in response to the crackdown on protests in Iran. Although the protests that shook Iran, especially on January 8th and 9th, were quelled by the regime and there are no longer any relevant demonstrations in the country, Trump has maintained his instruction to send the fleet to the region. You can also read: Epstein Case: Underage victims claim they were raped by Trump Iran has assured that it will respond to any intervention by the United States and has indicated that if an attack occurs, it will consider military targets all US bases in the region. The Islamic Republic has accused the United States and Israel of organizing protests that they have labeled as “terrorist” and whose deaths they estimate at 3,117, while opposition NGOs such as HRANA, place it at around 6,000.