Iran protest death toll reaches 544 as Trump says Tehran is seeking talks

DUBAI — The death toll from Iran’s crackdown on street protesters rose to at least 544, activists said Sunday, as President Donald Trump said Tehran had proposed negotiations while simultaneously warning that military action remained under active consideration. More than 10,600 people have been detained since demonstrations began Dec. 28, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.

The competing signals — a reported diplomatic overture from Tehran alongside escalating military threats from both Washington and Iran’s parliament — mark a volatile juncture in a crisis that began over the collapse of the Iranian rial and has since grown into a direct challenge to Iran’s theocratic government.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has tracked casualties in past periods of Iranian unrest and relies on supporters inside the country crosschecking information, said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were security forces. The Associated Press said it could not independently verify the toll; Iran’s government has not released overall casualty figures and cut internet and phone service inside the country, making outside monitoring increasingly difficult.

Trump signals talks and threats simultaneously

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Tehran’s threats of retaliation, he added: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said his administration was arranging a meeting with Iranian officials but cautioned he might have to act before it takes place. “I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” he said. “Iran wants to negotiate.” There was no immediate acknowledgment from Iranian officials of any proposed talks.

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran, including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

Iran’s parliament threatens preemptive action

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Baagher Qalibaf delivered a defiant address warning that U.S. military installations and Israel — which he referred to as “the occupied territory” — would face attack if Washington moved against Iran.

“In the event of an attack on Iran, both the occupied territory and all American military centers, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets,” Qalibaf said. “We do not consider ourselves limited to reacting after the action and will act based on any objective signs of a threat.” Lawmakers rushed the dais shouting “Death to America!”

How seriously Iran would pursue military action remains unclear. The country’s air defenses were destroyed during a 12-day war with Israel in June, and any decision to go to war would ultimately rest with 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The U.S. military said its Mideast forces were “postured with forces that span the full range of combat capability” to defend partners and U.S. interests. Iran targeted U.S. forces at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in June; the U.S. Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet is stationed in Bahrain.

International reaction

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke overnight with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on topics including Iran, said an Israeli official who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to talk to journalists. “The people of Israel, the entire world, are in awe of the tremendous heroism of the citizens of Iran,” Netanyahu said in a public statement.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said through a spokesperson that he was “shocked” by reports of violence resulting in “scores of deaths” and called on Iranian authorities to use maximum restraint and restore communications. Pope Leo XIV, in a public address, said he hoped “dialogue and peace may be patiently nurtured in pursuit of the common good of the whole of society” in Iran.

Demonstrations were also held in several international capitals in support of the protesters.

Origins and communications blackout

The protests began Dec. 28 after the Iranian rial collapsed to over 1.4 million to the dollar, driven in part by international sanctions tied to Iran’s nuclear program. They have since intensified into broader calls challenging the theocratic government directly.

Online videos sent from inside Iran, likely using Starlink satellite transmitters to circumvent the communications blackout, purported to show demonstrators gathering in northern Tehran’s Punak neighborhood, waving lit mobile phones as authorities shut off surrounding streets. Others showed fireworks and the sound of metal being banged. In Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city roughly 725 kilometers northeast of Tehran, footage purported to show protesters confronting security forces.

Iranian state television on Sunday morning broadcast correspondents standing on calm streets in several cities — but did not include footage from Tehran or Mashhad.

Those monitoring from abroad said the information blackout was emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services. With internet and phone lines cut, the Associated Press said it remained unable to independently assess the casualty toll.