President Donald Trump is set to be briefed this week by senior administration officials on his options to respond to widespread anti-government protests in Iran, according to a report.
Trump will be briefed Tuesday on specific routes of response to the protests, suggesting that he is considering reprimanding the regime for cracking down on demonstrators, as he has previously warned he would do, sources told The Wall Street Journal.
The president will meet with senior administration officials, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine to weigh the options, which include boosting anti-government sources online, utilizing secret cyber weapons, and placing more sanctions on the regime and military strikes, according to the report.
At least 538 people are feared dead as a result of the anti-government protests, which started over two weeks ago, while over 10,600 others have been detained during the demonstrations, the Associated Press reported Sunday.
A final decision on the course of action is not expected to come out of the meeting, according to the WSJ. On Sunday, Iran’s parliamentary speaker warned Trump that Tehran would target U.S. bases in the Middle East if Washington involved itself, raising fears of a wider regional conflict.
The Pentagon hasn’t moved any forces to prepare for potential military strikes, and the U.S. recently moved the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group from the Mediterranean to Latin America, leaving no aircraft carrier in the Middle East or Europe.
Republican Sen. Rand Paul warned against strikes in Iran on Sunday, after Trump previously threatened to bomb the country if it killed protesters demonstrating against its regime.
“The only problem I have with saying, ‘Oh, we’re going to bomb Iran,’ is that sometimes it has the opposite effect,” Paul told ABC News’ This Week.
“So, when you bomb a country, then people tend to rally around their own flag. They tend to see this is the – you know, a foreign country coming in and bombing us. And so, I don’t think it always has that effect.”
“I wish, you know, the same as the president, I want success. I hope that the freedom movement survives,” Paul added.
The US-based rights group HRANA reported Sunday that the death toll has surpassed 500, and that more than 10,000 people had been arrested.
They noted difficulty sourcing reliable information amid Iran's nationwide internet blackout. Despite these difficulties, protesters continued taking to the streets in the country’s capital on Sunday morning.
Online videos, likely transmitted via Starlink satellite transmitters, reportedly showed protesters gathering in northern Tehran’s Punak neighborhood. The videos appeared to show authorities shutting off streets, with protesters waving their lit phones.
“The pattern of protests in the capital has largely taken the form of scattered, short-lived, and fluid gatherings, an approach shaped in response to the heavy presence of security forces and increased field pressure,” the Human Rights Activists News Agency said. “Reports were received of surveillance drones flying overhead and movements by security forces around protest locations, indicating ongoing monitoring and security control.”
Other footage taken in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city, reportedly showed protesters confronting security forces.
Meanwhile, Trump said on social media that the US “stands ready to help” Iranians protesting against clerical rule, after earlier warning that US forces were “locked and loaded” if demonstrators were killed.
The demonstrations began on December 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy struggles due to international sanctions, in part levied over its nuclear program.
In the weeks since, the protests have intensified, with calls challenging Iran’s theocracy.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Iran threatens to hit US military targets if Trump decides to strike over protests
Tucker Carlson’s brother is latest person to get dragged into MAGA’s civil war
Iran’s regime is facing its gravest threat: here’s why - and what happens next
Smithsonian swaps portrait of Trump - and removes any reference to his impeachments
DHS sending ‘hundreds’ more officers to Minnesota after fatal ICE shooting
White House insiders stunned after Noem’s response to Renee Good: report
