Trump says studying ‘very strong options’ for Iran amid protests

WASHINGTON

An anti-Iranian regime protester holds placard reading "President Trump Support us, Please" during a demonstration outside the Iranian Consulate in Istanbul, on Jan. 11, 2026.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said that he was considering potential military action against Iran, amid mounting reports of deadly crackdowns against the country's mass anti-government protests.

"They're starting to, it looks like," Trump said, when asked by reporters aboard Air Force One if Iran had crossed his previously stated red line of protesters being killed.

"We're looking at it very seriously. The military is looking at it, and we're looking at some very strong options. We'll make a determination," he said.

Trump is scheduled to hold talks with top aides on Jan. 13 to review possible courses of action on Iran, according to media reports.

The Wall Street Journal said the options on the table ranged from military action and covert cyber operations to tougher sanctions and digital support for anti-government groups.

For two weeks, Iran has been rocked by a protest movement that has swelled in spite of a crackdown rights groups warn has become a "massacre.”

At least 544 people have been killed so far, including 496 protesters and 48 people from the security forces, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.

It said more than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests.

Initially sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, the demonstrations have evolved into a serious challenge of the theocratic system in place since the 1979 revolution.

Information has continued to trickle out of Iran despite a days-long internet shutdown, with videos filtering out of capital Tehran and other cities over the past three nights showing large demonstrations.

As reports emerge of a growing protest death toll, and images show bodies piled outside a morgue, Trump said Tehran indicated its willingness to talk.

"The leaders of Iran called" Monday, Trump told reporters, adding that "a meeting is being set up... They want to negotiate."

He added, however, that "we may have to act before a meeting.”

In response, Iranian foreign minister said that Tehran is fully prepared for conflict but also ready for negotiations.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is not seeking war but is fully prepared for war," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told a conference of foreign ambassadors in Tehran broadcast by state TV.

"We are also ready for negotiations but these negotiations should be fair, with equal rights and based on mutual respect."

He also said that “the situation has come under total control” after a bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.

The protests “turned violent and bloody to give an excuse” for to intervene, the Iranian top diplomat said.

A video circulating on Jan. 11 showed dozens of bodies accumulating outside a morgue south of Tehran.