Iran’s military and political establishment struck an increasingly combative tone on Thursday and Friday as the United States moved a major naval force towards the Middle East, with President Donald Trump saying an “armada” was heading in Iran’s direction while insisting he would prefer not to use it.

Two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, accompanied by several guided-missile destroyers and warplanes, is set to arrive in the region in the coming days. One official said additional air-defence systems were also being considered for deployment, a move that could bolster protection for US bases against potential Iranian strikes.

Trump, speaking after the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and later to reporters aboard Air Force One, coupled warnings with references to diplomacy.

“We have a big force going toward Iran,” he said on Thursday. “I’d rather not see anything happen, but we will see. We are watching them very closely. We have an armada, we have a massive fleet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it.”

The deployment comes amid heightened tensions following Iran’s violent crackdown on protests, and as Washington expands sanctions aimed at Iran’s oil export network. Tehran, while maintaining a more measured diplomatic line than some of its military commanders, has continued to accuse the United States of fomenting unrest inside the country and has warned that a broader confrontation would be lengthy and severe.

Senior Iranian military figures have issued direct threats against US interests in the region. Ali Abdollahi, described as a senior commander, said any attack on Iran’s territory or interests would turn US interests, bases and centres of influence into “legitimate and accessible targets”.

Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammad Pakpour said Iran was prepared for any possibility, “including an all-out war”.

Yahya Rahim Safavi, a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, went further, linking the current moment to Iran’s confrontation with Israel.

“We are preparing for a fateful war with Israel. We possess weapons no one else has,” Safavi said. “The next war will end this conflict once and for all.”

An influential Iranian cleric, Mohammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari, also warned that Iran could retaliate against US-linked investments in the region. “The one trillion dollars you have invested in the region is under the watch of our missiles,” he said, according to Iranian news agencies.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, adopted a less overtly martial tone but repeated accusations against Washington, writing on Thursday that the United States was instigating unrest. He warned that an all-out confrontation would be “messy, ferocious and far longer” than Israel or its allies anticipate.

Trump’s public messaging has mixed deterrence with assertions that diplomatic talks remain possible. Earlier this week, he said he had held back from a strike after Iran reportedly halted plans to execute hundreds of detainees, and he told the gathering in Davos: “Iran does want to talk, and we’ll talk.” Hours later, he reiterated that military action remained an option.

Iranian media reported that the judiciary rejected Trump’s claim that Tehran had paused the execution of hundreds of demonstrators because of US threats. Trump separately told Davos attendees he had “stopped 837 hangings” in Iran by warning of action.

The military posture and sanctions pressure have fed wider regional unease. KLM and Air France cancelled flights to Israel scheduled for Friday and Saturday, citing heightened security concerns linked to tensions with Iran. The move followed a decision by the Lufthansa Group to reduce flights to Israel and operate them only during daytime hours.

In the Gulf, the United Kingdom has also increased its visible military presence. The RAF has deployed Typhoon fighter jets to Qatar. A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said the deployment, made at the invitation of the Qatari government, was defensive, building on an established defence partnership and reflecting the UK government’s commitment to working with international partners to maintain regional stability.

In Westminster, MPs have called on the government to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation amid the crackdown. Labour MP Rachel Blake, who represents Cities of London and Westminster, said Iranian constituents had urged the “strongest possible action on sanctions” and the “fastest possible progress on proscribing the IRGC”.

The unrest inside Iran, and efforts by authorities to restrict information from leaving the country, remain central to the international response. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said on Thursday it had confirmed 5,002 deaths linked to the protests, including 4,714 protesters, 42 minors, 207 members of the security forces and 39 bystanders. HRANA also reported more than 26,800 people detained.

Iran has been under a nationwide internet blackout since January 8, according to internet monitor NetBlocks, which said on Thursday that the shutdown had reached two full weeks. “At hour 336, connectivity levels continue to flatline with only a slight rise at the backbone supplying regime-whitelisted networks,” it said, adding that a few users were able to tunnel to the outside world without specifying the tools used.

The United Nations Human Rights Council held an emergency session to discuss what it called “alarming violence” in Iran against protesters. UN human rights chief Volker Turk urged Iranian authorities to “end brutal repression”. A UN fact-finding mission later said the number of people killed in the protests was “much higher” than Tehran’s official figures of thousands, citing what it described as credible information, and said the crackdown was the deadliest since the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

Washington has simultaneously sought to tighten Iran’s economic constraints, including by targeting the shipping networks used to move Iranian oil. On Friday, the US Treasury announced sanctions on nine vessels and eight related firms involved in transporting Iranian oil and petroleum products. The State Department said the entities had shipped “hundreds of millions of dollars” worth of Iranian petroleum and products, including liquefied petroleum gas, helping to finance the Iranian government and its security forces.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the measures targeted “a critical component of how Iran generates the funds used to repress its own people”, adding that the Treasury would continue to track money it said the Iranian government was attempting to move to banks outside Iran.

The latest escalation has raised concerns about supply disruption in the Middle East and helped lift oil prices. On Friday, Brent crude futures rose $1.82, or 2.8%, to settle at $65.88 a barrel, the highest since January 14, while US West Texas Intermediate gained $1.71, or 2.9%, to $61.07. Both benchmarks ended the week up more than 2.5%.

Iran is OPEC’s fourth-biggest oil producer behind Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, producing about 3.2 million barrels a day according to OPEC figures, and is a major exporter to China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer. Supply concerns have also been amplified by disruptions in Kazakhstan, where output at the Chevron-led Tengiz oilfield has yet to resume following a fire that prompted a shutdown, and where export routes have been affected by damage from Ukrainian drone attacks.

Beyond Iran itself, Washington has also increased pressure on countries seen as providing Tehran with economic lifelines. Reuters reported that US officials warned Iraqi leaders that the United States would cut Iraq off from oil revenue and could freeze ties if Baghdad maintained economic links with Iran or elevated politicians Washington views as linked to Iran to cabinet posts. A State Department spokesperson said the United States supported Iraqi sovereignty, adding there was “absolutely no role for Iran-backed militias” that pursue what Washington called malign interests.

Iran’s nuclear programme remains another flashpoint. Iranian media quoted atomic chief Mohammad Eslami as saying the UN nuclear watchdog must clarify its stance on last June’s US and Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear sites before inspectors would be allowed to visit those facilities. He said inspections so far had been limited to undamaged sites and criticised the watchdog for allowing Israeli and US pressure to influence its actions.

US Vice President JD Vance said the military buildup was designed to ensure Washington had options and could protect personnel and allies in the region. Trump, he said, wanted to make sure that “if the Iranians, god forbid, did something very stupid, then we have the resources to respond to it”.

For now, both sides are signalling resolve while leaving the door open to talks, but the combination of major US force movements, fresh sanctions and escalating rhetoric from Iranian commanders has deepened fears of miscalculation in a region already strained by conflict and domestic upheaval.