Trump is considering "strong options" against Iran

2026-01-12 13:24:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

US President Trump has warned Iran against killing protesters. Now he says the military is considering "strong options" for intervention. Trump says there are also negotiations.

US President Donald Trump says the US is considering "very strong options" for intervention in Iran, due to violence against people protesting. "The military is looking at that," Trump said Sunday evening.

Trump and his national security team are considering options including cyberattacks and military strikes by the United States or Israel, two people familiar with the White House developments told The Associated Press.

Trump: Offer for negotiations from Tehran

On Saturday, "the leaders of Iran" called. "They want to negotiate," Trump said. He initially gave no details about the content of the talks or whether they might also address Iran's controversial nuclear program, but said a meeting was being arranged.

Trump is considering "strong options" against Iran

At the same time, he stressed: "We may have to act before a meeting." The US president also announced that he would talk to entrepreneur Elon Musk about restoring internet access in Iran. Musk's company, SpaceX, with its Starlink service, is the world's leading provider of satellite internet. The Iranian regime imposed an internet blackout last week. The speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammed Bagher Kalibaf, has previously threatened that the US military and Israel could be legitimate targets for Iran if the United States intervened militarily in Iran. A preemptive strike is also not ruled out.

The number of lives lost in protests is increasing

On Sunday, protests continued across the country. According to activists, they have spread to 185 cities. Human rights groups report numerous deaths, although the exact number is unclear. The US-based Human Rights Network, HRANA, reports 483 demonstrators killed.

Trump is considering "strong options" against Iran

A total of 544 people have been killed so far, including children and 47 members of the security forces. Some 10,700 people have been arrested, the network added. HRANA's figures cannot be independently verified.

The BBC quoted a source in Tehran as saying: "The situation here is very, very bad." Security forces were reportedly using live ammunition.

"It's like a war zone, the streets are covered in blood. They are transporting the bodies in trucks," the source said. These reports could not be independently verified either.

Shah's son calls for further escalation

Reza Pahlavi, the son of the Shah overthrown in 1979, has called for the next phase of the uprising in a new message to the protest movement in Iran. In addition to occupying central streets in cities, all institutions responsible for government propaganda and disrupting communication are now "legitimate targets," he declared on the "X" platform.

Trump is considering "strong options" against Iran

Pahlavi also called for the "shameful flag of the Islamic Republic" to be replaced at all Iranian embassies and consulates outside Iran with the old flag last used during the reign of his father, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. But due to the internet shutdown, it is unclear whether and to what extent people in Iran will be able to see Pahlavi's demands.

Guterres "shocked"

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed his shock at reports of violence against protesters in Iran. The right to freedom of expression must be fully respected, he wrote on the "X" platform.

He called on Iranian authorities not to use violence against demonstrators. Guterres also called for restoring access to information for the people of Iran.

Protests in Iran began two weeks ago, sparked by the country's dire economic situation. They have since escalated into massive demonstrations against the leadership in Tehran./ DW