Unrest in Iran has killed 538 people, a rights group said on Jan 11, as Tehran threatened to target US military bases if President Donald Trump carries out threats to intervene on behalf of protesters, reports Reuters.
With the Islamic Republic's clerical establishment facing the biggest demonstrations since 2022, Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene if force is used on protesters.
According to its latest figures – from activists inside and outside Iran – US-based rights group HRANA said it had verified the deaths of 490 protesters and 48 security personnel, with more than 10,600 people arrested.
Iran has not given an official toll and Reuters was unable to independently verify the tolls.
Mr Trump was to meet senior advisers on Jan 13 to discuss options for Iran, a US official told Reuters on Jan 11.
The Wall Street Journal had reported that options included military strikes, using secret cyber weapons, widening sanctions and providing online help to anti-government sources.
"The military is looking at it, and we're looking at some very strong options," Mr Trump told reporters travelling on Air Force One on the night of Jan 11.
Mr Trump said he was in contact with Iranian opposition leaders.
He also said, without elaborating, that Iran's leaders had called him on Jan 10 and want to negotiate, and that he might talk to them.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, speaking in Parliament on Jan 11, warned the United States against "a miscalculation".
"Let us be clear: In the case of an attack on Iran, the occupied territories (Israel) as well as all US bases and ships will be our legitimate target," said Mr Qalibaf, a former commander in Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards.
Authorities intensify crackdown
The protests began on Dec 28 in response to soaring prices, before turning against the clerical rulers who have governed since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The authorities accuse the US and Israel of fomenting trouble and called for a nationwide rally on Jan 12 to condemn "terrorist actions led by the United States and Israel" in Iran, state media reported.
The flow of information from Iran has been hampered by an internet blackout since Jan 8.
Mr Trump said on Jan 11 that he would talk to billionaire Elon Musk about restoring internet access in Iran through his Starlink satellite service.
Footage posted on social media on Jan 10 from Tehran showed large crowds marching along a street at night, clapping and chanting. The crowd “has no end nor beginning”, a man is heard saying.
In footage from the north-eastern city of Mashhad, smoke can be seen billowing into the night sky from fires in the street. Another video posted on Jan 10 showed masked protesters and a road strewn with debris. Explosions could also be heard.
Reuters verified the locations.
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