President Trump says he is considering military options in Iran amid protests
Anti-government protests in Iran are entering their third week and the death toll is rising.
Iranian officials said on January 12 that the country was ready for war but open to dialogue with the United States, as President Donald Trump continued to threaten to intervene amid a violent government-led crackdown on protesters.
According to multiple media reports about the speech, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi told a news conference in Tehran to foreign ambassadors that his country “does not want war” but is ready for it.
The comments came a day after President Trump said he was considering military options against Iran.
Soaring prices and the collapse of the Iranian rial sparked large-scale demonstrations in late December, and anti-government protests are now in their third week. Human rights groups and international monitoring groups have been tracking protests in the country’s major cities and dozens of towns across all provinces. This is the largest uprising to challenge the Islamic Republic’s clerical rule since 2022.
The Norway-based organization Iranian Human Rights said on January 11 that it had confirmed that at least 192 protesters had been killed since the demonstrations began. The US-based Human Rights Defenders News Agency said it had confirmed the deaths of more than 500 protesters in hundreds of protests. The group also said more than 10,600 people had been transferred to prison after being arrested.
Iran does not release official statistics. A government-imposed internet blackout has cut off much communication with people in the country since January 8, disrupting the flow of information.
Demonstrations in support of the protesters have also occurred in several international cities in recent days, including Los Angeles, where a driver drove a U-Haul truck into a large crowd on January 11th.
Arakuchi insisted that the protests were “fully under control” and said President Trump’s comments warning of possible U.S. intervention had motivated those he called terrorists to target demonstrators and security forces in a bid to invite foreign intervention.
President Trump has repeatedly warned Iranian leaders not to kill protesters and has stepped up his threats in recent weeks. On January 11, the president told reporters aboard Air Force One that he was considering military action.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options. We’ll make a decision,” Trump said.
President Trump said Iranian leaders are seeking negotiations with the U.S. administration and a meeting is set, but “we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting.”
President Trump said he called for negotiations over Iran’s disputed nuclear program.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghai said on January 12 that contacts between the two countries remain open through traditional intermediary Switzerland and that Iran has “never left the negotiating table.” Bagai said the US was showing a lack of seriousness by sending “contradictory messages.”
Addressing a large crowd in Tehran’s Enkerab Square on Monday, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Iranians are fighting a war on four fronts: “economic war, psychological warfare, military war against the United States and Israel, and today’s war on terrorism.”
A total of 53 mosques and 180 ambulances have been set on fire since the protests broke out, Arakchi said on Monday, January 12, adding: “Iranians will not attack mosques.”
Iranian leaders accused the United States and Israel of inciting the demonstrations.
Contributor: Reuters; Joey Garrison, USA TODAY
Kathryn Palmer is USA TODAY’s political reporter. She can be reached at the following address: kapalmer@usatoday.com And with X@Kathryn Purml. Sign up for her daily politics newsletter here.
