Trump says US reviewing 'very strong' options on Iran as protests rage
President Donald Trump said on Sunday the United States and its military was examining what he called very strong options on Iran as authorities continued a deadly crackdown on protestors across the country.
Asked by a reporter whether Iran had contravened red lines Trump set against killing protestors, he said: "They're starting to. It looks like, and there seem to be some people killed that aren't supposed to be killed."
"These are violent, if you call them leaders, I don't know if they're leaders or just they rule through violence, but 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 he was getting an "hourly report" on the developments in Iran.
Asked about Iran's threats to target the US interests in the region in case of an American attack, Trump said "if they do that, we will hit them at levels that they've never been hit before. They won't even believe it."
"I have options that are so strong. So, I mean, if they did that, it'll be met with a very very powerful force."
Protests continued in Tehran and in northern Iran on Sunday despite a near-total internet blackout, as security forces used lethal force nationwide and reports from activists and medical sources pointed to hundreds, possibly thousands, killed.
Videos received by Iran International showed protests in Tehran, including the Punak neighborhood, and in Shahsavar in Mazandaran province on Sunday.
Videos from Tehran’s Kahrizak forensic center showed rows of bodies, while doctors in Rasht and Karaj said hospitals received dozens of dead in recent days. Independent verification has been hampered by the communications blackout.
Two eyewitnesses who visited Kahrizak in search of their loved ones told Iran International that they saw more than 400 bodies there. The most conservative estimates indicate that at least 2,000 people have been killed across Iran on January 8 and 9.
Internet monitoring groups NetBlocks and Cloudflare said nationwide connectivity remained near zero for a fourth day, isolating the country as protests resumed in Tehran and provincial cities, according to videos and eyewitness accounts sent to Iran International.
International reactions intensified. The UN secretary-general said he was “shocked” by reports of excessive force and urged restraint. European officials voiced concern, while Israel said it had gone on high alert amid the possibility of US intervention.
US President Donald Trump is set to be briefed on Tuesday on options to respond to the situation, the Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported, citing US officials. Axios said measures under discussion range from cyber and information operations to military deterrence, though officials cautioned that major strikes could backfire by undermining the protest movement.
Another report by Jerusalem Post said Trump is expected to assist Iranians protesting nationwide against Iran’s ruling establishment, The Jerusalem Post reported, citing several sources familiar with the details of the discussions held in recent days
“Trump has essentially decided to help the protesters in Iran. What he has not yet decided is the ‘how’ and the ‘when,’” the sources said, according to the report published on Sunday.
Iran’s leadership accused foreign enemies of fomenting unrest and warned that any US or Israeli attack would draw retaliation.
Overseas rallies by Iranians were reported across Europe, the UK, Turkey and Australia, as exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi called for sustained protests and strikes.
US President Donald Trump is expected to assist Iranians protesting nationwide against Iran’s ruling establishment, The Jerusalem Post reported, citing several sources familiar with the details of the discussions held in recent days
“Trump has essentially decided to help the protesters in Iran. What he has not yet decided is the ‘how’ and the ‘when,’” the sources said, according to the report published on Sunday.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called on President Donald Trump to target Iran’s leadership, arguing that such action would embolden protesters and lead to peace in the Middle East.
“Whatever action we are going to take, Mr. President, is to embolden the protesters and scare the hell out of the regime,” Graham said in an interview with Fox News. “If I were you, Mr. President, I would kill the leadership that are killing the people. You have got to end this.”
“If it ends well, then peace breaks out. All the state-sponsored terrorism activity stops. Hezbollah, Hamas, they go away. Israel and Saudi make peace. A new day in the Mideast,” he added.
Two US senators warned on Sunday that military action against Iran could backfire, saying strikes risk uniting Iranians behind their rulers rather than weakening them, as nationwide protests continue in the country.
“I don’t know that bombing Iran will have the effect that is intended,” Republican Senator Rand Paul said on ABC News’ This Week.
Democratic Senator Mark Warner said a US military attack could rally Iranians against an outside enemy rather than undermine the authorities.
Warner, speaking on Fox News Sunday, warned that a strike against Iran could unite Iranians against the United States “in a way that the regime has not been able to.”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “shocked” by reports of violence against protesters in Iran and urged the authorities to show restraint, his spokesman said on Sunday.
“[Guterres] is shocked by the reports of violence and excessive use of force by the Iranian authorities against protesters,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
He called on Iranian authorities “to exercise maximum restraint and to refrain from unnecessary or disproportionate use of force,” Dujarric said.
