US President Donald Trump has claimed that Iran’s leadership has reached out to him to negotiate, amid mounting reports that hundreds of protesters have been killed during weeks of unrest across the country.
Trump made the disclosure on Sunday while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, saying Tehran contacted him after he repeatedly warned of possible US military action if Iranian authorities continued killing demonstrators.
“The leaders of Iran called,” Trump said, adding that arrangements were already underway for a meeting. He cautioned, however, that the United States “may have to act before a meeting” takes place.
Iran has been gripped by widespread protests for more than two weeks, initially triggered by anger over rising living costs but now evolving into a direct challenge to the Islamic system established after the 1979 revolution. Despite a days-long internet shutdown, images and videos have continued to emerge from Tehran and other cities, showing large crowds defying security forces.
Human rights groups have raised alarm over what they describe as a brutal crackdown. The US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran said it had received eyewitness accounts and credible reports indicating that hundreds of protesters were killed during the ongoing internet blackout, warning that a massacre was unfolding.
The Norway-based group Iran Human Rights confirmed the deaths of at least 192 protesters but said the actual toll could be far higher. According to the organisation, unverified reports suggest that several hundred, and possibly more than 2,000 people, may have been killed. The group also estimates that more than 2,600 protesters have been arrested.
Grim footage circulating online on Sunday appeared to show dozens of bodies stacked outside a morgue in Kahrizak, south of Tehran. The video, geolocated by AFP, showed bodies wrapped in black bags as grieving relatives searched for missing loved ones.
An AFP journalist in Tehran described a city close to paralysis. Meat prices have nearly doubled since the protests began, many shops remain shut, and those that open are forced to close by early evening as security forces deploy in large numbers. While fewer protest videos surfaced on Sunday, it remained unclear whether that reflected a slowdown in demonstrations or the impact of the internet shutdown.
One widely shared clip showed protesters gathering again in the Pounak district of Tehran, chanting slogans in support of the ousted monarchy. The unrest represents one of the most serious challenges to the rule of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, coming just months after Israel’s 12-day war with Iran, which was backed by the United States.
Read also:
- Trump shifts attention to Cuba after Venezuela with threat of sanctions
- 250 female aspirants obtain PDP forms
- Imo ADC strategy gains momentum as key PDP, LP leaders defect at Stakeholders summit
Iranian state television has focused on images of burning buildings, including a mosque, and funerals for security personnel killed during the unrest. Authorities have insisted that calm is returning. Tehran Governor Mohammad Sadegh Motamedian said on state TV that the number of protests was declining, while footage aired on Sunday showed traffic flowing normally in parts of the capital.
The government has declared three days of national mourning for what it described as martyrs, including members of the security forces. President Masoud Pezeshkian also called on citizens to join a national resistance march to denounce the violence.
Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, responded sharply to Trump’s threats, warning that US military assets and shipping would be considered legitimate targets if Washington intervened.
Meanwhile, Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran’s last shah, has emerged as a prominent opposition figure. He said he was prepared to return to Iran and lead a democratic transition, telling Fox News that he was already planning such a move. He urged members of the security forces and government workers to side with protesters, warning them against complicity in violence.
Pahlavi also called on demonstrators abroad to replace the flags flying at Iranian embassies with Iran’s pre-revolution national flag, which has become a symbol of solidarity with protesters worldwide. In London over the weekend, demonstrators briefly replaced the Iranian embassy flag with the tricolour banner used under the former monarchy.
