Iran has sent a series of sinister warnings to the US as American warships arrived in the Middle East. Tehran’s foreign ministry vowed a “comprehensive and regret-inducing response” if the US was to launch strikes on Iran amid rising tensions.

Donald Trump last week said an “armada” was on its way to the Middle East as he threatened military action over the killing of peaceful protesters and Tehran launching mass executions in the wake of the demonstrations. Iran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests has killed at least 6,126 people while many others are still feared dead, according to activists. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, supported by guided missile destroyers, arrived in the region on Monday.

A billboard, with a graphic showing an American aircraft carrier with damaged fighter jets on its flight deck, is being displayed at the Islamic Resolution square in Tehran.

An accompanying message in Farsi and English reads: “If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind.”

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei also warned the US against taking military action.

“The resulting insecurity will undoubtedly affect everyone,” he said.

Two Iranian-backed militias in the Middle East have also rallied behind Tehran.

The chief of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq warned of “total war” if the US was to launch strikes, Al Jazeera reported.

The Houthis in Yemen suggested it could launch attacks on vessels in the region as it released a video showing US warships and previously targeted commercial vessels. The American strike group “is currently deployed to the Middle East to promote regional security and stability”, US Central Command said. It added the warships were in the Indian Ocean, not in the Arabian Sea which borders Iran.

The strike group will bring thousands of additional service members to the region, which has not had a US aircraft carrier since the USS Gerald R. Ford was ordered in October to sail to the Caribbean as part of a pressure campaign on then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Mr Trump told reporters last week that the ships were sent to the region “just in case”, saying: “We have a massive fleet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it.”

He earlier had threatened military action if Iran carried out mass executions of prisoners or killed peaceful demonstrators during a crackdown on protests that began in late December. He has more recently appeared to have backed away from possible military action, although is seemingly keeping his options open as tensions remain high.

The USS Abraham Lincoln has multiple squadrons of aircraft on board, including F-35 Lightning II and F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets.

Meanwhile, the destroyers have hundreds of missiles, which could include dozens of Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles.

An internet blackout remains in Iran after nearly three weeks.

Iran has repeatedly threatened to drag the entire Middle East into a war and its state media has tried to accuse forces abroad for the huge protests in the country which erupted in late December over anger after another huge fall in the local currency.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said it has identified the dead in the protests as including at least 5,777 protesters, 214 government-affiliated forces, 86 children and 49 civilians who weren’t demonstrating.

These have not been independently verified by the Express.

Iranian authorities insist the death toll is far lower at 3,117.