Iran to hold live-fire drills in Strait of Hormuz with US armada in Middle East

Iran

Iran to hold live-fire drills in Strait of Hormuz with US armada in Middle East

Exercises will be carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ naval forces

Ashley Carnahan Fox News

Published

January 29, 2026 2:44pm EST

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Iran will conduct live-fire military drills next week in the Strait of Hormuz after President Donald Trump announced a U.S. armada was on its way to the region amid escalating tensions with Tehran.

The exercises will be carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ naval forces, Iranian state media reported Thursday.

The announcement came one day after Trump said a large naval force, led by the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, was heading toward Iran.

In a statement posted to Truth Social, the president warned Tehran to quickly return to negotiations over its nuclear program, saying the fleet was prepared to act with "speed and violence" if necessary.

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Satellite imagery shows a narrow maritime passage linking two large bodies of water.

A satellite view shows the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy chokepoint connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, on Oct. 2, 2024. (Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data via Getty Images)

"Time is running out, it is truly of the essence! As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL! They didn’t, and there was ‘Operation Midnight Hammer,’ a major destruction of Iran," he wrote. "The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again."

The U.S. struck Iran’s Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites in June using B-2 bombers and Tomahawk missiles.

The bombers flew for 37 hours non-stop from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to drop 12 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators on Fordow and two on Natanz.

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Uniformed naval personnel stand on the deck of a military vessel during a parade.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy personnel stand on a warship during an IRGC marine parade marking Persian Gulf National Day near the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Bushehr, Iran, on April 29, 2024. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

More than two dozen cruise missiles were also launched at Isfahan from a U.S. submarine.

Trump is weighing military action against Tehran, as U.S. assets move into the region amid international scrutiny over a crackdown by the Islamic regime that has killed thousands of anti-government protesters.

USS Abraham Lincoln repositioned to Middle East

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Iran warned last week that it would respond "with everything we have" to any new U.S. military attack, accusing Washington and its allies of exploiting recent unrest to push the region toward a wider war.

"As Iranians grieve their loved ones and rebuild what has been destroyed, another threat looms: the final failure of diplomacy. Unlike the restraint Iran showed in June 2025, our powerful armed forces have no qualms about firing back with everything we have if we come under renewed attack," Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said,.

Ashley Carnahan is a writer at Fox News Digital.

Iran to hold live-fire drills in Strait of Hormuz with US armada in Middle East