Iran threatens the US with “a more painful and decisive response”. The US aircraft carrier has arrived in the Indian Ocean
Iran warned on Monday against US intervention after recent violent protests in the country, as the United States bolsters its military presence in the region by sending the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier to CENTCOM waters in the Indian Ocean.
USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier enters CENTCOM waters PHOTO: X/ @Currentreport1
US President Donald Trump announced last week that a “Armada” navy is heading to the Persian Gulf, keeping pressure on Iran and warning several times that it could strike the country.I'd rather nothing happens, but we're watching them closely.”Trump said, according to Fox News.
According to the American press, the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, previously in the South China Sea, has been ordered to head to the Middle East.
Tehran's reaction was swift. “The arrival of such a warship will not affect Iran's determination to defend its nation”said the spokesman of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Esmail Baghai. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is confident in its own capabilities.” he added.
Video source: X/ @Currentreport1
Threat of hard response
Iran's Defense Ministry warned that any aggression by the US or Israel would be met “with a more painful and decisive response than in the past”said Talaei-Nik, quoted by Iran International. “Iran's military training has increased since June's 12-day war. Certainly, if the enemy takes hostile action, he will fail more than before and suffer a heavier defeat“, he added.
Iran's First Vice President, Mohammad Reza Aref, said the government had prepared a plan to run the country in wartime, but that Tehran was not seeking conflict: “The government has prepared a plan for managing the country in time of war, although hopefully it will never have to be implemented. The Islamic Republic does not intend to start a war, but it will not hesitate to defend the country“.
Internal tensions and reprisals
Iran and Israel were engaged in a 12-day war in June 2025, triggered by an Israeli attack on Iranian military and nuclear facilities, to which the US responded by striking three nuclear sites in Iran.
In central Tehran, Iranian authorities installed a huge anti-American billboard, depicting an aircraft carrier about to be destroyed, with the text: “He who sows wind reaps storm”.
At the same time, Iran violently repressed the recent protests, which began in December by traders dissatisfied with the economic crisis and intensified on January 8. Internet access has been blocked, isolating most citizens from the rest of the world, the organization Netblocks pointed out. It claims that the blocking aims to “masking the extent of the bloody repression against civilians“, while “regime accounts promote the Islamic Republic's official narrative“.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei last appeared in public on January 17, warning that authorities “they will break the backs of the rebels.”
The balance of victims
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), 5,848 people were killed during the protests: 5,520 demonstrators, 77 minors, 209 members of the security forces and 42 bystanders. Another 17,091 possible deaths are also being investigated, and the actual death toll could be much higher. HRANA also reported the arrest of at least 41,283 people.
Iranian authorities released their first toll on Wednesday, indicating 3,117 dead, most of them “martyrs” (2,427), either members of the security forces or bystanders. The opposition channel Iran International, however, estimates more than 36,500 deaths, based on classified documents and security sources.
International support for Iran
In Lebanon, pro-Iranian Shiite group Hezbollah, weakened after the November 2024 war with Israel, held rallies in support of Iran on Monday “in the face of American-Zionist sabotage and threats“, at which the leader of the group, Naim Qassem, is expected to speak.
