Iran protests kill over 600; 'prepared for war,' says FM Abbas Araghchi, Trump's 'first option' is... — 10 points | Today News

Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) claimed that at least 648 protesters were killed as the new wave of anti-government nationwide protests in Iran continued for the 16th day on Monday. The organisation said thousands were injured amid the demonstrations.

Iran, which has not given an official death toll from the protests, blamed the bloodshed on US interference. The political unrest in Iran entered its third week with the Trump administration weighing military intervention and the Iranian leadership warning it’s “prepared for war.”

2. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Monday that the country was prepared for war but was also ready to negotiate, after President Trump hinted at possible US military action to stop a deadly crackdown by Iran’s authorities against anti-government protests in the country.

“We are not looking for war, but we are prepared for war — even more prepared than the previous war,” Abbas Araghchi told a conference of foreign ambassadors in Tehran, according to the New York Times. “We are also ready for negotiations, but negotiations that are fair, with equal rights and mutual respect,” Araghchi added.

3. Abbas Araqchi also said Tehran was studying ideas proposed by Washington, though these were "incompatible" with US threats. "Communications between (US special envoy Steve) Witkoff and me continued before and after the protests and are still ongoing," he told Al Jazeera.

4. Iran's Ministry of Intelligence said on Monday it had detained "terrorist" teams responsible for acts including killing paramilitary volunteers loyal to the clerical establishment, torching mosques and attacking military sites, according to a statement carried by state media.

5. Addressing a large crowd in Tehran's Enqelab Square on Monday, parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Iranians were fighting a war on four fronts - "economic war, psychological warfare, military war against the US and Israel, and today a war against terrorism."

“Come and see what will happen to American ships and military bases in the region. Come and burn in the fire of the Iranian nation so severely that it becomes a lasting lesson in history for all oppressive US rulers. Come and find out what will happen to you and to the region,” Qalibaf warned as cited by Iran state-run Press TV today.

6. Meanwhile, Trump said he has been mulling his options on Iran, which has been roiled by more than two weeks of demonstrations that have defied a near-total internet blackout and lethal force.

While airstrikes were one of many alternatives open to Trump, "diplomacy is always the first option for the president," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday.

"What you're hearing publicly from the Iranian regime is quite different from the messages the administration is receiving privately, and I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages," she said.

7. The US Department of State Consular Affairs highlighted the escalating protests and said US citizens in Iran should consider leaving by land to Armenia or Turkey. "US nationals are at significant risk of questioning, arrest, and detention in Iran," the department said on its TravelGov account on X.

8. According to CNN, Iran’s foreign ministry summoned the ambassadors of the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and France to present them with footage of what it described as violent acts by protesters during recent demonstrations.

9. Iran’s internet blackout reportedly reached 96 hours, according to cybersecurity watchdog NetBlocks. Iranian security forces are also clamping down on the use of Starlink, carrying out raids on homes and arresting those in apparent possession of satellite equipment, according to pro-reform activist outlet IranWire.

10. The European Parliament will ban all Iranian diplomatic staff and representatives from its premises amid widespread anti-regime protests, according to the assembly’s president.