Iran warns 'finger on trigger' after Trump says US is watching the country 'very closely' and sending fleet

President Donald Trump reacts during a signing ceremony on his Board of Peace initiative at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 22, 2026. MARKUS SCHREIBER / AP

President Donald Trump said Thursday, January 22, a US naval "armada" was heading toward the Gulf, maintaining pressure on Iran, saying the US is still watching the country "very closely," though he has recently downplayed the prospect of imminent military action.

In response, the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned Washington Thursday that the force had its "finger on the trigger" in the wake of mass protests.

Last week, Trump pulled back from a threat to strike Iran over its deadly crackdown on anti-government protests after the White House said Tehran had halted planned executions of demonstrators.

But the Republican president on Thursday confirmed continuing military preparations. US media have reported in the past week that the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group was ordered from maneuvers in the South China Sea to the Middle East.