Trump sends warning to Iran as he claims 'time is running out'

President Trump has issued Iran with the direct threat of causing regime change 'with speed and violence', as the build-up of US military assets in the region continues to escalate.

The commander-in-chief emphasized the 'massive armada' he is amassing in the Persian Gulf in an early morning post on Truth Social, Wednesday January 28, pointing out that the carrier strike group, headed by the USS Abraham Lincoln, was larger than the one sent to Venezuela.

"Like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission," the president threatened, in an attempt to apply maximum pressure on the Shia-majority Muslim republic to relinquish its alleged nuclear ambitions.

This fresh military build-up is larger than that which preceded the US and Israel's previous attacks on Iran, in June last year, which targeted a number of nuclear facilities and research centers with 'bunker buster' bombs and missiles launched by Air Force and Navy assets.

Thousands are feared dead in a brutal crackdown on anti-regime protesters in Iran (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

At the time, Trump claimed that this short operation had 'completely and totally obliterated' Iran's nuclear program, with later Pentagon assessments determining that the strikes had set back the country's ability to develop a nuclear weapon by around two years.

But now, six months later, the White House is attempting to bring Iran's authoritarian and theocratic leadership to the negotiating table to force them to abandon their nuclear ambitions - but Iran has shown no sign of responding to Trump's attempt at gunboat diplomacy.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has claimed there has been no communication between the Iranian state and US envoy Steve Witkoff in recent days, nor formal requests for negotiations.

Hitting back at the American show of force in the region, Araghchi told state media: "Our stance is clear, negotiations don’t go along with threats and talks can only take place when there are no longer menaces and excessive demands."

Anti-American propaganda has appeared across Tehran in recent days including one stating 'if you sow the wind you reap the whirlwind' (ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images)

But with the Iranian regime weakened by a month of bloody protests across the country, which some non-profit organizations claimed to the BBC has killed upwards of 25,000 people, Trump could have the upper hand in negotiations.

This unrest is partly why the White House is trying to exert maximum pressure on the regime, which is being presented with the option of facing more deadly attacks from the US while its citizens riot on the streets, or capitulating to Trump's nuclear deal.

While American forces await the green light on potential military actions against Iran, US Central Command (CENTCOM) has announced a 'multi-day readiness exercise to demonstrate the ability to deploy, disperse and sustain combat airpower.'

The Air Forces Central division added that the drills should help military personnel to 'prepare for flexible response execution'.

President Trump's warning to Iran in full

At around 7am EST, President Trump issued this threat on Truth Social.