Trump warns Iran time is running out for nuclear deal, says U.S. armada ready for ‘violence’

Time is running out for Iran to make a deal, President Donald Trump warned Wednesday, as he urged the Islamic Republic to negotiate on nuclear weapons or face the force of a “massive armada” of American ships.

“Like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, adding that the fleet was “moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose.”

Trump said the fleet. which is headed by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, was larger than the one he sent to Venezuela, in a reference to his naval blockade of the South American country to prevent sanctioned oil tankers from leaving.

The Lincoln and its attending ships arrived in the Middle East on Monday, a U.S. official said.

Trump first warned that an American “armada” was heading toward Iran on Friday, after several weeks of deadly mass protests rocked the country.

More than 6,000 people were killed in the demonstrations across the country including the capital, Tehran, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said Tuesday. The group says that it verifies each death with a network of activists on the ground in Iran and that its data goes through “multiple internal checks.”

Iran’s government put the official death toll at 3,117 last week. NBC News could not independently verify either figure.