US President Donald Trump on Sunday said Iran’s leadership had reached out to him seeking negotiations, following his repeated warnings of possible US military action if Tehran continued its violent crackdown on protesters.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said, “The leaders of Iran called yesterday… a meeting is being set up. They want to negotiate,” while cautioning that “we may have to act before a meeting.”
Iran has been gripped by nationwide protests for over two weeks, initially sparked by rising living costs but now posing a direct challenge to the country’s theocratic system established after the 1979 revolution. Despite a prolonged internet shutdown, videos and eyewitness accounts have continued to emerge from Tehran and other cities.
The Center for Human Rights in Iran said it had received credible reports indicating that hundreds of protesters may have been killed during the blackout, warning that “a massacre is unfolding.”
Meanwhile, Iran Human Rights confirmed at least 192 deaths, adding that the true figure could be far higher—possibly exceeding 2,000—with more than 2,600 arrests reported.
Disturbing footage circulating online showed dozens of bodies outside a morgue in Kahrizak, as grieving relatives searched for loved ones. An AFP journalist described Tehran as nearly paralysed, with food prices soaring, shops shuttered, and heavy security deployments across the city.
The unrest represents one of the most serious challenges yet to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, 86, coming shortly after Israel’s 12-day war with Iran in June, backed by the United States.
Iranian authorities have declared three days of national mourning for fallen security personnel. President Masoud Pezeshkian urged citizens to join a “national resistance march,” while Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that any US military action would trigger retaliation.
Meanwhile, exiled opposition figure Reza Pahlavi said he was ready to return to Iran to lead a democratic transition, calling on security forces to side with protesters. Demonstrators abroad have echoed his call, replacing Iranian embassy flags with the pre-revolution tricolour at rallies, including in London.
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