Iran has declared its preparedness for conflict following a stern warning from U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump threatened unprecedented levels of retaliation if Iran escalates its response to ongoing anti-government protests, now entering their third week. According to the Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA), based in the U.S., nearly 500 protesters along with 48 security personnel have perished amidst the Iranian government’s intense crackdown on demonstrators. An eyewitness described the scene to BBC Radio 4’s Today Program, saying, “The streets are filled with blood, it’s akin to a warzone.”

During a conversation aboard Air Force One on Sunday evening, President Trump suggested possible military intervention, stating, “The military is considering it, and we’re evaluating some very strong options.” In response to Iran’s threats of retaliation, Trump warned, “If they retaliate, we will strike them at levels they’ve never experienced before.” Reacting to these remarks, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Araqchi, stated, “We are prepared for war but also open to dialogue.” He further accused the U.S. president’s warnings of encouraging “terrorists” to attack demonstrators and security forces, potentially inciting foreign intervention.

Throughout the protests, President Trump has consistently warned of potential military action against Iran if it continues its violent suppression of demonstrators. On Friday, he remarked that Iran “is in big trouble,” and cautioned, “I’ve made it clear that if they start killing people as they have in the past, we will intervene.” In response, Tehran’s attorney general, Mohammad Movahedi Azad, issued a stern warning on Saturday, stating that participants in protests would be labeled as “enemies of God,” a charge punishable by death.

Rhetoric only escalated when Mohammad Baagher Qalibaf, the hard-liner speaker of the Parliament of Iran, said Israel and ‘all American military centres, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets’ in the event of an attack on Tehran. ‘Things here are very, very bad. A lot of our friends have been killed,’ the anonymous Iranian woman told the BBC. ‘They’re taking away bodies in trucks, everyone is frightened tonight. They’re carrying out a massacre here – it’s officially a massacre.’ Almost 200 body bags have been seen in footage from a morgue near the Iranian capital as protests continue. Another 10,600 people have been detained over the fortnight of unrest, HRANA said. The Iranian government has imposed an internet shutdown since Thursday.

The protests mark the largest in Iran since a nationwide uprising in 2022, sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who was detained by morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly. Trump said on Sunday that he would speak to tech billionaire Elon Musk, owner of company SpaceX which operates Starlink, about resuming internet access in Iran. ‘He’s very good at that kind of thing, he’s got a very good company,’ the US president said. Speaking to foreign diplomats in Tehran, Foreign Minister Araghchi claimed ‘the situation has come under total control’ after violence spiked over the weekend.

The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks. On Sunday, Trump said Iran had proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown targeting demonstrators. The US president and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyber-attacks and direct strikes by the US or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. 

He said his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters. ‘I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,’ Trump said. ‘Iran wants to negotiate. The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.’ There was no immediate acknowledgement from Iran of the offering for a meeting. The offer came after the foreign minister of Oman – long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran – traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.