Trump: US military ‘looking at very strong options’ on Iran, Tehran ‘wants to negotiate’
Reza Pahlavi calls agencies behind internet shutdown ‘legitimate targets,’ as Tehran residents get threatening texts from police, IRGC; activists put death toll at 544; truck rams LA protesters
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US President Donald Trump said Sunday that Iran proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown targeting demonstrators there, a move coming as activists said the death toll in protests rose to at least 544.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump was asked whether the regime has crossed his red line, given that he has pledged to target the Islamic Republic if it kills protesters.
“They’re starting to [cross it]. It looks like [it]. There seem to be some people killed that aren’t supposed to be killed… They rule through violence,” he responded.
“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, adding that he is receiving hourly updates on developments at the protests.
Trump said he will soon speak to Elon Musk about potentially getting his Starlink satellite internet service fully operational in Iran to assist the protesters who have been dealing with a government-ordered blackout since late last week.
Some protesters have managed to gain access to the internet via Starlink terminals smuggled into the country, but the service is not officially operational in Iran.
While Iran has said it would target Israel and US military and commercial bases if Washington attacks, Trump said, “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before… I have options that are so strong.”
In his talk with reporters, Trump also claimed that Iran reached out to the US and proposed holding another round of nuclear talks.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.” He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting.”
Iran’s FM claims ‘situation has come under total control’
There was no immediate acknowledgement from Iran of the offer for a meeting.
But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to foreign diplomats in Tehran, insisted “the situation has come under total control” in fiery remarks that blamed Israel and the US for the violence, without offering evidence.
“That’s why the demonstrations turned violent and bloody to give an excuse to the American president to intervene,” Araghchi said, in comments carried by the Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network. Al Jazeera has been allowed to report from inside the country live despite the internet being shut off.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Activist group: 544 killed, 10,600 detained so far
At least 544 people have been killed and more than 10,600 people have been detained over the two weeks of protests, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
HRANA, which relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information, has reported accurately during previous periods of unrest. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult.
“They are shooting at people. Help us,” a protester shouts in English on the streets of Mashhad in northeastern Iran in a video sent to Iran International, appealing for help from the United States. pic.twitter.com/XGd5Ork3XT
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) January 11, 2026
Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning.
Online videos showed more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
Online videos sent out of Iran, likely using Starlink satellite transmitters, appeared to show demonstrators gathering in northern Tehran’s Punak neighborhood.
There, it appeared that authorities blocked streets, with protesters waving their lit mobile phones. Others banged metal while fireworks went off.
Crowds gather in Punak Square in Tehran as protesters use mobile phones to light up the area and cheering during a nighttime rally.#Iran pic.twitter.com/wqo4PqSuVD
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) January 11, 2026
In Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city some 725 kilometers (450 miles) northeast of Tehran, footage showed protesters confronting security forces.
Protests were also reported in Kerman, 800 kilometers (500 miles) southeast of Tehran.
Iranian state television on Sunday morning had correspondents appear on the streets in several cities to show calm areas, with a date stamp shown on screen. Tehran and Mashhad were not included.
Streets of Tehran deserted at sundown, as cops issue threats
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty out at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, … refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The demonstrations began December 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Pahlavi says Iranians ‘on the verge of reclaiming’ country
Reza Pahlavi, an Iranian opposition figure and son of the deposed shah, announced a new stage Sunday night in the effort “to overthrow the Islamic Republic and reclaim our dear Iran.”
“In addition to seizing and holding the central streets of cities, all institutions and apparatuses responsible for the regime’s false propaganda and cutting off communications are considered legitimate targets,” he said in a video statement.
ملت عزیز ایران، هموطنان شجاعم،
شما در دو هفته گذشته بویژه در چهار روز اخیر با تظاهرات میلیونی، پایههای رژیم نامشروع جمهوری اسلامی را به لرزه در آوردهاید. اینک، با اتکا به پاسخ میلیونی شما به فراخوانهای روزهای گذشته، و با مشروعیت و مقبولیتی که از شما دریافت کردهام، مرحله… pic.twitter.com/mZNo2wLlSg
— Reza Pahlavi (@PahlaviReza) January 11, 2026
“Government employees, and the armed and security forces, have the opportunity to join the people… or choose complicity with the murderers of the nation,” he said.
Pahlavi says all Iranian diplomatic missions abroad should fly the flag that was used before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
A protester managed to briefly replace the Islamic Republic flag at its London embassy with that older version, and Pahlavi appeared to back similar actions elsewhere, arguing that those offices belong to the people of Iran, not the regime.
“We are on the verge of reclaiming our dear Iran from the Islamic Republic. Khamenei and his regime have suffered several heavy blows from you, and we must not give them a chance to catch their breath again,” the son of the former shah said.
“The regime is facing a serious shortage of repressive forces, and the increased shooting at [protesters] is not out of strength, but due to a lack of mercenaries and fear of accelerating their downfall. We will not allow these criminals to shed more of our youth’s blood on the ground.”
“The freedom of Iran is near. The blood spilled of Iran’s immortal children guides us toward victory. We are not alone. Global assistance will arrive soon as well,” Pahlavi added.
Pahlavi is seen as a figure uniting many of the protesters, but not all support his family’s return to power.
Truck plows into LA demonstrators, injures one
Los Angeles police responded Sunday after somebody drove a U-Haul box truck down a street crowded with marchers demonstrating in support of Iran’s protesters, causing LA demonstrators to scramble out of the way and then run after the speeding vehicle to try to attack the driver.
The police statement said one person was hit by the truck but nobody was seriously hurt. Two people were evaluated by paramedics and both declined treatment, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
The U-Haul truck, with a window and side mirrors shattered, was stopped several blocks away and surrounded by police cars. ABC7 news helicopter footage showed officers keeping the crowd at bay as demonstrators swarmed the truck, throwing punches at the driver and thrusting flagpoles through the driver’s side window.
The driver, a man who was not identified, was detained “pending further investigation,” police said in a statement Sunday evening.
A banner attached on the truck said ““No Shah. No Regime. USA: Don’t Repeat 1953. No Mullah,” an apparent reference to a US-backed coup that year that toppled then-prime minister Mohammad Mossadegh.
The Times of Israel Community.