Tensions escalate in Middle East: Trump says massive armada headed to Iran; Tehran warns of 'finger on the trigger'

• US sends warships towards Iran amid rising tensions and warnings
• Iran says its forces are ready and warns US and Israel against miscalculations
• Trump claims Iran canceled executions after his threats

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Tensions between US and Iran ratcheted up on Thursday after President Donald Trump warned that an "armada" is heading towards the Middle Eastern country and renewed warnings to Tehran against killing protesters or restarting its nuclear program.

Iran struck a belligerent note after Trump's warning with the commander of its Revolutionary Guards saying that it had its "finger on the trigger".

The renewed threats from both sides have again raised tensions in the region just days after it appeared that Washington is unlikely to take immediate action against Tehran.

Massive fleet heads to Gulf region

Officials said that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers will arrive in the Middle East in the coming days, according to Reuters.

Trump, who was speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way back from Davos, Switzerland, said that several ships are headed towards the Middle East and US is closely watching the developments in Iran.

"We have a lot of ships going that direction, just in case … I'd rather not see anything happen, but we're watching them very closely," Trump told reporters. At another point, he said: "We have an armada ... heading in that direction, and maybe we won't have to use it."

The warships started moving from the Asia-Pacific last week as tensions between Iran and the United States soared following a severe crackdown on protests across Iran in recent months.

'Finger on the trigger'

Meanwhile, Iran signalled that it won't get deterred by American threats even as it warned US and Israel to "avoid any miscalculations" by learning from historical experiences.

"The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and dear Iran have their finger on the trigger, more prepared than ever, ready to carry out the orders and measures of the supreme commander-in-chief," Guards commander General Mohammad Pakpour said.

Another top Iranian military commander, General Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi said that if US attacked Tehran, then all its "interests, bases and centres of influence" would be "legitimate targets" for Iran's armed forces.

Protests continue in Iran

Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene against Iran over the recent killings of protesters there but protests dwindled last week.

The president backed away from his toughest rhetoric last week, claiming he had stopped executions of prisoners.

He repeated that claim on Thursday, saying Iran canceled nearly 840 hangings after his threats.

"I said: 'If you hang those people, you're going to be hit harder than you've ever been hit. It'll make what we did to your Iran nuclear (program) look like peanuts,'" Trump said.

"At an hour before this horrible thing was going to take place, they canceled it," he said, calling it "a good sign."

It is unclear whether protests in Iran could also surge again. The protests began on December 28 as modest demonstrations in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar over economic hardship and quickly spread nationwide.