By Jana Chowkir, Naira Abdallah and Tala Ramadan
DUBAI, Jan 12 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said the U.S. may meet with Iranian officials and is in contact with the opposition, as he weighed a range of tough responses, including military options, to a violent crackdown on Iranian protests that are one of the biggest challenges to the clerical regime since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
“We are ready for war but also for talks,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakhchi told foreign ambassadors in Tehran on Monday in an English translation briefing.
Trump has warned Iran’s leaders that the US will attack if security forces open fire on protesters.
US-based rights group HRANA said 490 protesters and 48 security personnel were confirmed dead and more than 10,600 people were arrested.
Iran has not given an official toll and Reuters could not independently verify the tallies.
Trump said Sunday that Iran had called for talks over its nuclear program, which Israel and the US bombed during the 12-day war in June.
“Iran wants to talk, yes. We can meet with them. There’s a meeting, but we may have to take action on what’s going on before the meeting, but the meeting is being scheduled. Iran called, they want to talk,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One.
Trump is scheduled to discuss Iran’s options with senior advisers on Tuesday, a US official told Reuters on Sunday. The Wall Street Journal reported that options included military strikes, using covert cyber weapons, broadening sanctions and providing online help to anti-government sources.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned Washington against “miscalculation”.
“Let us be clear: in the event of an attack on Iran, the occupied territories (of Israel) as well as all American bases and ships will be our legitimate targets,” said Qalibaf, a former commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
Dozens of body bags
The protests began on December 28 in response to rising prices before turning against the clerical rulers who have ruled since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Iranians, who are struggling to meet their goals, are increasingly resentful of the powerful Revolutionary Guards, whose business interests in oil and gas, manufacturing and telecommunications are worth billions of dollars.
State TV on Monday broadcast live the funerals of security forces killed in Shahroud and large crowds attending pro-government demonstrations “condemning recent terrorist incidents” in cities such as Kerman, Zahedan and Birjand. It also relayed calls from various senior officials inviting them to hit the streets on Monday.
Iranian officials accused the US and Israel of fomenting the problem and called for a nationwide rally on Monday to “condemn terrorist acts led by the US and Israel,” state media reported.
Araqchi said the situation in Iran was “completely under control” after violence linked to protests over the weekend. He added that Trump’s warning of action against Tehran had prompted “terrorists” to target protesters and security forces to invite foreign intervention if protests turned bloody.
Since Thursday, the internet blackout has disrupted the flow of information from Iran. Trump said on Sunday he would speak with Elon Musk about restoring Internet access to Iran through his Starlink satellite service.
Arakchi said that the internet service will be resumed in coordination with the security authorities.
Footage posted on social media from Tehran on Saturday showed large crowds marching, clapping and chanting at night. The crowd “has no end and no beginning,” one man is heard saying.
State TV showed dozens of body bags on the ground at the Tehran coroner’s office, the dead victims of incidents by “armed terrorists”, as well as footage of loved ones gathered outside Tehran’s Kahrizak Forensic Medical Center waiting to identify the bodies.
Reuters verified the locations.
Officials announced Sunday “three days of national mourning in honor of martyrs killed in resistance against the United States and the Zionist regime,” according to state media.
Three Israeli sources, who attended Israeli security consultations over the weekend, said Israel remains on high alert for the possibility of any US intervention.
Israel and Iran fought a 12-day war in June 2025, in which the United States briefly joined in by attacking nuclear facilities. Iran fired missiles at US air bases in Israel and Qatar.
‘Riots and Terrorists’
Although Iranian officials have faced previous protests, recent years have revealed that Tehran is still recovering from last year’s war and that its regional position has been weakened after an October 7, 2023 attack against Israel that struck allies such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Iran’s unrest comes as Trump flexes US muscle internationally by ousting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and discussing acquiring Greenland by purchase or force.
Alan Ayer, a former US diplomat and Iran expert, said the protests are unlikely to topple the establishment.
“I think it will put these protests down eventually, but it looks very weak from the process,” he told Reuters, adding that Iran’s elite still seemed united and there was no organized opposition.
Posting on social media on Saturday, Trump said: “Iran is looking at freedom, perhaps like never before. USA stands ready to help!!!”
(Additional reporting by Elveli Elveli in Dubai. Rami Ayoub, Myan Lubel in Jerusalem and Alexander Cornwell, Steve Holland in Washington; Video corroboration by Mahejabin Syed, Eleanor Whalley and Marine Delrue; Writing by Michael Georgi; Editing by Sergeone Michael N. Fergio.)
