As the United States escalates its military presence in the Middle East with an "armada" comparable to Operation Desert Fox, including the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford, Iranians are expressing deep anxiety ahead of crucial talks with the U.S. in Geneva on Thursday. This round of negotiations is widely viewed as a final opportunity for Iran's theocracy to reach an agreement with President Trump, who withdrew the U.S. from the nuclear deal in 2018. Many citizens, already burdened by sanctions and the recent violent crackdown on dissent in January where thousands were killed and tens of thousands detained, fear a war that could eclipse the devastating 1980s conflict with Iraq. The population is divided, with some supporting the government and others feeling the nation is fracturing under the immense pressure.