Trump weighs response to Iran crackdown; Tehran says communication open with US

DUBAI - Tehran said on Jan 12 it is keeping communications open with the US as President Donald Trump weighed responses to a deadly crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran
, which pose one of the stiffest challenges to clerical rule since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Mr Trump said on Jan 11 the US may meet Iranian officials and that he was in contact with Iran’s opposition, while piling pressure on its leaders, including threatening possible military action over lethal violence against protesters.

While air strikes were one of many alternatives open to Mr Trump, “diplomacy is always the first option for the President”, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Jan 12.

“What you’re hearing publicly from the Iranian regime is quite different from the messages the administration is receiving privately, and I think the President has an interest in exploring those messages,” she said.

US-based rights group HRANA said it had verified the deaths of 572 people – 503 protesters and 69 security personnel.

Since the protests began on Dec 28 and spread around the country, 10,694 people have been arrested, the group said. Reuters was unable to independently verify the tallies.

Internet blackout hampers information flows

The flow of information from the Islamic Republic has been hampered by an internet blackout since Jan 8.

Iran’s leaders, their regional clout much reduced, are facing fierce demonstrations that evolved from complaints about dire economic hardships to defiant calls for the fall of the deeply entrenched clerical establishment.

Despite the massive scale of the protests, there are no signs of splits in the Shi’ite clerical leadership, military or security forces, and demonstrators have no clear central leadership. The opposition is fragmented.

In verified video footage, Iranians gathered at the Kahrizak Forensic Centre in Tehran on Jan 11, standing over rows of dark body bags.

Iran has not given an official death toll, but blames the bloodshed on US interference and what it calls Israeli- and US-backed terrorists. State-run media has focused attention on the deaths of security forces.

Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence said on Jan 12 it had detained “terrorist” teams responsible for acts including killing paramilitary volunteers loyal to the clerical establishment, torching mosques and attacking military sites, according to a statement carried by state media.

‘Communication channel’ with US open, Mr Araqchi says

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran was studying ideas proposed by Washington, though these were “incompatible” with US threats.

“Communications between (US special envoy Steve) Witkoff and me continued before and after the protests and are still ongoing,” he told Al Jazeera.

The ambassadors of Britain, Italy, Germany and France in Tehran were summoned to the Foreign Ministry, semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Jan 12, and asked to relay Tehran’s request to withdraw their support for the protests to their governments.

A French diplomatic source said the ambassadors had strongly expressed their concerns.

Addressing a large crowd in Tehran’s Enqelab Square on Jan 12, Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Iranians were fighting a war on four fronts – “economic war, psychological warfare, military war against the US and Israel, and today a war against terrorism”.

Mr Araqchi said on Jan 12 that a total of 53 mosques and 180 ambulances had been set on fire since the protests erupted.

‘We might meet’ Iranians, Mr Trump says

Mr Trump said on Jan 11 that Iran had called to negotiate about its disputed nuclear programme. Israel and the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites in a 12-day war in June. “A meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what is happening before the meeting,” he told reporters on Air Force One.

Mr Trump was to meet with senior advisers
on Jan 13 to discuss options for Iran, a US official told Reuters. The Wall Street Journal reported that the options included military strikes, using secret cyberweapons, widening sanctions and providing online help to anti-government sources.

Striking military installations could be highly risky, as some may be located in heavily populated areas.

Mr Qalibaf 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 US bases and ships will be our legitimate target,” he said.

However, Tehran is still recovering from 2025’s war,
and its regional clout has been weakened by blows to allies such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah since the Oct 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Israel also killed top Iranian military commanders in the June war.

Situation ‘under total control’, Mr Araqchi says

The protests began in response to soaring prices that have worsened daily hardships, before turning against the clerical rulers who have governed for more than 45 years.

Iranians have grown increasingly resentful of the powerful Revolutionary Guards
, whose business interests including oil and gas, construction and telecommunications are worth billions of dollars.

Mr Araqchi said on Jan 12 the situation was “under total control”, after violence linked to protests spiked over the weekend.

He said internet service would be resumed in coordination with the security authorities. REUTERS