Trump weighs military options as Iran protest death toll rises

Independent.co reports Donald Trump has said he is considering 'very strong options' for a possible military response to Iran's crackdown on economic protesters, while monitoring groups say at least 544 people have died in clashes with security forces.

Trump has demanded an end to the killing of protesters, who have taken to the streets over soaring inflation. He and his national security team have been weighing responses including cyber-attacks and direct strikes by the US or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions, though Trump also said Tehran had been in touch and 'they want to negotiate' to prevent such action. Iran's parliamentary speaker warned on Sunday that Tehran would consider Israeli and US bases and ships to be fair targets if Washington does involve itself, raising fears of a wider regional conflict. US-based rights group HRANA reported the death toll had surpassed 500 and that more than 10,000 people had been arrested.

The flow of information has been hampered by a near-total internet blackout since Thursday, and Iran has not given an official death toll; Reuters was unable to independently verify the tallies. Trump said he plans to speak with Elon Musk about restoring internet access via SpaceX's Starlink, and the administration continues to weigh possible steps.

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World, Donald Trump, Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Hrana, Spacex