Iran said Monday it is fully prepared for war after President Donald Trump warned that the United States could take military action if Tehran continues a violent crackdown on nationwide protests that rights groups say has killed hundreds.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the country does not seek conflict but is ready to respond if attacked.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is not seeking war but is fully prepared for war,” Araghchi said at a conference of foreign ambassadors in Tehran, remarks broadcast on state television and reported by Euronews.
He added that Iran remains open to negotiations but only under strict conditions.
“We are also ready for negotiations,” Araghchi said. “But these negotiations should be fair, with equal rights and based on mutual respect.”
Trump said Sunday that Iran’s leadership had reached out to him seeking talks, even as he repeated warnings of possible military intervention if Iranian authorities continue to kill protesters.
“They want to negotiate,” Trump said. “But we may have to act before a meeting.”
The standoff comes amid more than two weeks of unrest that began with protests over economic hardship and rapidly escalated into one of the most serious challenges to Iran’s theocratic leadership since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Rights groups say the death toll continues to rise sharply.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, known as HRANA, said more than 10,600 people have been detained since protests erupted.
HRANA reported that at least 544 people have been killed, including 496 demonstrators and 48 members of the security forces.
Norway-based Iran Human Rights said it has confirmed at least 192 protester deaths but warned that the true toll could be far higher.
“Unverified reports indicate that at least several hundreds, and according to some sources more than 2,000 people, may have been killed,” the group said.
The opposition group People’s Mujahedin of Iran, which is banned inside the country, claimed more than 3,000 people have died, citing sources within Iran.
Iranian authorities have not released official casualty figures.
The government has also imposed an internet blackout lasting more than 84 hours, according to monitoring group NetBlocks.
The shutdown has severely limited Iranians’ ability to upload images and videos from demonstrations that have spread across major cities since Thursday.
Video verified by AFP showed dozens of bodies laid outside a morgue south of Tehran, wrapped in black bags, as grieving relatives searched for loved ones.
AFP geolocated the footage to Kahrizak, an area long associated with detention facilities.
Iran’s foreign ministry confirmed that indirect communication channels remain open with Washington despite the absence of diplomatic relations.
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said messages are exchanged between Araghchi and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff when necessary.
He noted that U.S. interests in Iran are represented by Switzerland.
Oman’s foreign minister, whose country has previously mediated between Tehran and Washington, met with Araghchi in Tehran on Saturday.
Trump, who backed Israel’s 12-day conflict with Iran in June, said he believes Iran’s leadership is under growing pressure.
“They’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said.
He warned, however, that retaliation by Iran would provoke an overwhelming response.
“If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before,” Trump said. “The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options.”
Iranian officials responded with their own warnings.
Mohammad Baagher Qalibaf, the hardline speaker of Iran’s parliament, said during a session that any attack on Iran would trigger retaliation against U.S. and Israeli targets.
“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,” he said.
Lawmakers responded by chanting “Death to America.”
Iran’s leadership has also sought to project unity at home.
The government declared three days of national mourning for what it described as victims of “riots.”
State television aired images of pro-government rallies forming in several cities, with a large march expected in Tehran later Monday.
The unrest began on Dec. 28 following the collapse of the Iranian rial, which now trades at more than 1.4 million to the U.S. dollar amid crippling sanctions tied in part to Iran’s nuclear program.
Economic grievances quickly evolved into calls directly challenging the authority of the Islamic Republic.
Reza Pahlavi, the U.S.-based son of Iran’s ousted shah, urged members of the security forces to side with protesters.
“Employees of state institutions, as well as members of the armed and security forces, have a choice,” Pahlavi wrote on social media. “Stand with the people and become allies of the nation, or choose complicity with the murderers of the people.”
In London, protesters replaced the Iranian flag at the embassy with a banner bearing a Persian lion symbol used under the former monarchy.
Iran’s foreign ministry said it summoned the British ambassador over the incident.
The Independent reported that Trump and his national security team are weighing a range of potential responses, including cyberattacks and direct strikes by U.S. or Israeli forces.
Two people familiar with internal White House discussions told the outlet that military options remain under active consideration.
Trump confirmed that possibility.
“We’re looking at very strong options,” he said.
Iran has previously demonstrated its willingness to strike U.S. targets.
In June 2025, Iranian forces targeted the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in retaliation for U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities during the Iran-Israel conflict.
Iran’s air defenses suffered significant damage during the 12-day conflict with Israel in June, raising questions about Tehran’s military readiness for a broader war.
Any decision to formally enter a conflict would rest with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has ruled Iran since 1989 and retains ultimate authority over military and security matters.
The sharp exchange between Tehran and Washington reflects a dangerous convergence of domestic unrest and geopolitical brinkmanship.
While Iran has often used confrontational rhetoric during periods of internal crisis, the scale of the protests and the mounting death toll appear to be pushing the leadership toward more extreme posturing.
Trump’s repeated threats of military action mark one of the most explicit warnings issued by a U.S. president tied directly to Iran’s internal repression.
Such language risks incentivizing hardliners on both sides.
For Iran’s leadership, framing protests as foreign-backed destabilization efforts strengthens the case for a security-first response.
For Washington, the temptation to use force as leverage carries significant risks in a region already destabilized by conflict in Gaza, Ukraine-linked energy disruptions, and fragile Gulf security.
Any U.S. military action could unify Iran’s fractured political establishment, undercut protest momentum, and trigger retaliation against American forces and allies across the Middle East.
At the same time, continued mass arrests, internet shutdowns, and rising fatalities increase international pressure on Tehran and narrow its diplomatic options.
The standoff illustrates how quickly domestic unrest in Iran can spiral into a global crisis — one in which miscalculation on either side could carry consequences far beyond Iran’s borders.
