Trump says Tehran wants to negotiate as he weighs U.S. response to regime's crackdown on protests

Hundreds of protesters killed in islamic republic of iran, U.S. Warned to continue come out

U.S. Chairperson Donald Trump said the United States may meet Iranian officials and was in contact with the opposition, as he weighed a range of strong responses including military options to a violent crackdown on Iranian protests which pose one of the biggest challenges to clerical rule since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

"We are ready for war but also for dialogue," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Monday in a briefing to foreign ambassadors in Tehran via English translation.

Trump has warned Iran's leaders that the United States would attack if security forces open fire on protesters.

U.S.-based rights group HRANA said it had verified the deaths of 490 protesters and 48 security personnel, with more than 10,600 people arrested.

Iran has not given an official toll and Reuters was unable to independently verify the tallies.

Trump said on Sunday that Iran had called to negotiate its nuclear program, which Israel and the U.S. Bombed in a 12-day war in June.

"Iran wants to negotiate, yes. We might meet with them. A meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what is happening before the meeting, but a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate," Trump told reporters on Air Force One.

Trump was to meet with senior advisers on Tuesday to discuss options for Iran, a U.S. Official told Reuters on Sunday. The Wall Street Journal had reported that options included military strikes, using secret cyber weapons, widening 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 traveling on Air Force One on Sunday night.

Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, speaker of Iran's parliament, warned Washington against "a miscalculation."

"Let us be clear: in the case of an attack on Iran, the occupied territories (Israel) as well as all U.S. Bases and ships will be our legitimate target," said Qalibaf, a former commander in Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards.

The protests began on December 28 in response to soaring prices, before turning against the clerical rulers who have governed since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Fiery Iran protest images emerge as Trump threatens regime

The protests began on December 28 in response to soaring prices, before turning against the clerical rulers who have governed since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iranians, who are struggling to make ends meet, have grown increasing resentful of the powerful Revolutionary Guards, whose business interests including oil and gas, construction and telecommunications are worth billions of dollars.

State TV on Monday aired live footage of large crowds attending a funeral procession for security forces killed in Shahrud and pro-government demonstrations in cities such as Kerman, Zahedan and Birjand, held “in condemnation of recent terrorist events." It also relayed calls from various senior officials inviting people to take to the streets on Monday.

The situation in Iran is "under total control" after violence linked to protests spiked over the weekend, said Araqchi. He added Trump's warning against Tehran of action should protests turn bloody had motivated "terrorists" to target protesters and security forces in order to invite foreign intervention.

The flow of information from Iran has been hampered by an internet blackout since Thursday. Trump said on Sunday he would talk to Elon Musk about restoring internet access in Iran through his Starlink satellite service.

Araqchi said internet service will be resumed in coordination with security authorities.

Footage posted on social media on Saturday from Tehran showed large crowds marching at night, clapping and chanting. The crowd "has no end nor beginning," a man is heard saying.

State TV showed dozens of body bags on the ground at the Tehran coroner's office, saying the dead were victims of events caused by "armed terrorists," as well as footage of loved ones gathered outside the Kahrizak Forensic Medical Centre in Tehran waiting to identify bodies.

Reuters verified the locations.

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