Trump Warns of 'Massive Armada' Sent Towards Iran

U.S. President Donald Trump says that he is "watching Iran very closely," add that after he threatened to hit Tehran, the Iranian regime cancelled the planned execution of protesters. Speaking with reporters on board Air Force One, Trump said there is a "massive armada heading in direction of Iran." He added that a "25% tariff on anyone dealing with Iran" will take effect "very soon." A U.S. military aircraft carrier strike group and other assets will ‌arrive in the Middle East region in the coming days, two U.S. officials said on Thursday, even as U.S. ⁠President Donald Trump voices hopes of avoiding new military action against Iran. U.S. warships, including aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, several ‌destroyers and fighter aircraft started moving from the Asia-Pacific last week as tensions between Iran and the United States soared following a ‍severe crackdown on anti-regime protests across Iran. One of the officials said additional air defense systems were also being eyed for the Middle East. The United States often increases U.S. troop levels in ‍the Middle East at moments of heightened regional tensions, something that experts note can be entirely defensive in nature. However, the U.S. military ‌staged a major buildup last summer ahead of its June strikes against Iran's nuclear program, and later boasted about how it kept its intention to strike a secret. Trump had repeatedly threatened to intervene against Iran over the recent killings of protesters there, but protests dwindled last week and Trump's rhetoric regarding Iran has eased. The Israeli army issued evacuation notices this week to displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza, located in territory controlled by Hamas, according to testimonies and satellite images. Testimonies and Palestinian media reports show that the IDF distributed leaflets with evacuation warnings to a tent encampment located 400 meters west of the Yellow Line, which separates the Israeli-controlled segment of Gaza from the area controlled by Hamas. The leaflets, dropped on families living in the Al-Reqeb neighborhood of Bani Suheila, near Khan Yunis, write in Arabic, English and Hebrew: "Urgent notice – This area is under IDF control. You must evacuate immediately." An additional text appears only in Hebrew and in Arabic, stating, "You are risking your life." Here are Thursday's latest updates on Israel, Gaza, the West Bank and the Middle East: ■ Arab party leaders from United Arab List, Hadash, Ta'al, and Balad united for a joint list in the upcoming elections. ■ Tens of thousands protested against the violence and crime rampant in Arab society in northern Israel's Sakhnin. ■ U.S. envoy Jared Kushner unveils 'New Gaza' with AI skyscrapers, airport at Trump's Board of Peace launch at Davos. ■ Iran says a total of 3,117 people were killed during the mass anti-regime protests in official death toll figures published on Wednesday. ■ An Israeli official said the cabinet will discuss opening Gaza's Rafah border crossing next week. ■ Netanyahu's chief of staff Tzachi Braverman was questioned for the second time by police over the 2024 Bibileaks affair. ■ Sgt. Maj. (res.) Asael Babad, 38, from West Bank's Seneh, died of wounds sustained in October in southern Gaza combat on Thursday. ■ President Herzog said PM Netanyahu's court cases "should have been resolved amicably," when asked about the PM's request to pardon him in an interview at Davos. ■ The conviction of a police officer who threw a stun grenade at anti-government protesters in 2023 was overturned by the Tel Aviv court. "I obviously have concerns about Putin being on a Board of Peace," British ‍Prime ‍Minister Keir Starmer said in an interview with Channel 4 News. "He ‌is waging war on a European country. They're raining down bombs on Ukraine." U.S. President Donald Trump said ‍on Wednesday that Russian President ⁠Vladimir Putin had accepted his invitation to join the ‍initiative, but the Russian leader ‌said the invitation was only under consideration. Starmer added, "We mustn't let the events ‌of the last week ‍or so deflect from the ⁠focus. We need to work with the Americans. It's going to be allies and others to defend and support Ukraine in ⁠a conflict which is not of their making." The leaders of the Arab parties United Arab List, Hadash, Ta'al, and Balad announced their intention to run in the upcoming elections on a joint list on Thursday night, at the end of a demonstration held in Sakhnin protesting crime and violence in the Arab community. The statement was signed by MKs Ahmad Tibi (Ta'al), Ayman Odeh (Hadash), Sami Abu Shahadeh (Balad), and Mansour Abbas (UAL). Abbas said at the protest in Sakhnin, "As long as this government exists, the lives of these children [who came to demonstrate] are at risk. People came to shout, 'Stop this negligence and failure.'" He added, "We will do everything, united across all parties, to help replace this racist government with one that serves all citizens – including Arab citizens." Odeh said, "All we want is to live in a society without weapons and to eliminate organized crime. We are taking steps of civil disobedience in peaceful ways. If the government doesn't want us to take these steps, it must act itself to eliminate crime in the Arab population." Tibi added, "We must continue this momentum and hold a major demonstration in Tel Aviv together with Jews, and eventually even shut down the economy. Netanyahu is unmoved by the killing of Arabs, so action must be taken to paralyze the system." Albanian lawmakers ‍on Thursday approved ‍a government decision to join ‌Trump's Board of Peace. Albanian Prime Minister ‌Edi Rama called the move "an act of goodwill" and "a ‍special honour", saying it would strengthen Albania's role "at the table" in global diplomacy, referring to the statement by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Davos. Neighbouring Kosovo, a close ally with the U.S. ‌, which supported its independence from Serbia in 2008, also joined the Board of Peace. Bulgaria's outgoing government has joined the treaty, a decision the ‌parliament is expected to ‍ratify next week. Diplomat Nikolay Mladenov, a ⁠former UN envoy, has been elected as the High Representative for Gaza at the board. Bulgaria and Hungary are the only EU members that have joined the Board of ⁠Peace so far.