Iran, US signal talks amid brinkmanship
President Donald Trump has said that Iranian leaders had called seeking to negotiate, adding that a meeting was being set up, but warned the United States was weighing a range of "very strong options", including possible military action.
As mass protests in Iran intensified into one of the gravest challenges to the clerical rule since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Trump said the United States might act before the talks if Iranian security forces continued killing protesters.
"The leaders of Iran called [yesterday]. A meeting is being set up... They want to negotiate," Trump told reporters on board Air Force One on Sunday night. "We may have to act before a meeting. The military is looking at it, and we're looking at some very strong options."
The protests, which began on December 28 over soaring prices, have evolved into a broad movement against the system, unfolding despite a nationwide internet shutdown now exceeding 84 hours, according to monitoring group Netblocks.
Rights groups say the crackdown has been severe. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said it had verified 544 deaths, while Iran Human Rights confirmed at least 192 protesters killed, warning the real toll could be several hundred or more.
Unverified reports cited by rights groups suggest fatalities could exceed 2,000. More than 2,600 protesters have been arrested, according to estimates, while Iranian state media say dozens of security personnel have also been killed.
Video footage verified by AFP and Reuters showed dozens of bodies wrapped in black bags outside the Kahrizak forensic centre south of Tehran, with grieving relatives searching for loved ones amid fears of a far higher death toll.
Iranian authorities rejected accusations of mass killing, describing the unrest as a "war against terrorists". Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that any US attack would make Israel, US bases and ships legitimate targets.
"Let us be clear: in the case of an attack on Iran, the occupied territories [Israel] as well as all US bases and ships will be our legitimate target," Qalibaf, a former commander in Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, said. He warned Washington against "a miscalculation."
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran was not seeking war but was fully prepared for it, while also expressing readiness for negotiations based on mutual respect. He said the situation was under total control after weekend violence.
Iran's foreign ministry confirmed that communication channels with Washington remained open through intermediaries, including Switzerland, even as the White House said Tehran's private messages differed sharply from its public rhetoric.
The government declared three days of national mourning for the martyrs, including members of the security forces, and staged mass pro-government rallies, with thousands filling Tehran's Enghelab Square waving national flags.
State television broadcast images of smooth-flowing traffic and officials insisted protests were declining, though videos circulating despite the blackout showed crowds chanting against the clerical leadership in several Tehran districts.
International pressure mounted as the European Union (EU) said it was considering further sanctions over the crackdown, while the European Parliament barred Iranian diplomats from its premises. Iran summoned several European envoys over their support for protesters.