Iran 'prepared' for war as Trump threatens 'very strong' response to crackdown which has killed more than 500
The Iranian regime has said it is fighting a "four-front war against the US and Israel"
Iran has warned it is "prepared" for war but willing to negotiate with the US as the death toll in the regime’s brutal crackdown on protesters continues to surge.
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Hundreds of protesters have been killed so far and the country has been left without power for four days as a massive wave of unrest sweeps across the country.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, has said the nation is fighting a “four-front war”.
The term refers to an economic war, a psychological war, a “military war” with the US and Israel and a “war against terrorists."
However, the regime has also said it is also ready to negotiate with the US based on “mutual respect and interests."
“As I have said repeatedly, we are also ready for negotiations — but fair and dignified negotiations, from an equal position, with mutual respect and based on mutual interests,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Monday.
He added: “We do not want war, but we are completely prepared for it — even more prepared than before the previous war.”
Read more: Starmer refuses to ban Iran's IRGC as 'terror army' as death toll rises in crackdown on protesters
“The reason is clear: the best way to prevent war is to be prepared for war, so that our enemies do not once again fall into miscalculation.”
He has also alleged that protests “turned violent and bloody to give an excuse” for US President Donald Trump to intervene.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said pro-government rallies held in the country today "came as a warning to American politicans to end their deceit".
He warned the "Iranian nation is a powerful one, is aware and knows its enemies and is present in every scene".
Mr Trump said Iran has contacted the US to “negotiate” while he considers “very strong” military options to intervene if protesters continue to be killed.
His press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Mr Trump has "shown that he's unafraid to use military options" when he sees it fit.
"I think one thing President Trump is very good at is always keeping all of his options on the table, and air strikes would be one of the many, many options that are on the table," she told reporters.
But she added that "diplomacy is always the first option" for Mr Trump.
The death toll according to the Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) human rights group has risen to nearly 650 as of Monday.
Meanwhile, UK Foreign secretary Yvette Cooper said she has spoken with her Iranian counterpart urging the regime to end the violence.
In a post on X, She wrote that the "killing & brutal repression of peaceful protesters in Iran is horrific".
Ms Cooper added: "I have spoken to Foreign Minister [Abbas] Araghchi and told him directly: the Iranian government must immediately end the violence, uphold fundamental rights and freedoms, and ensure British nationals are safe."
As of Monday afternoon, US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency recorded deaths in Iran.
But some groups are estimating that the death toll is in the thousands.
The Government has faced calls to "add pressure" on Iran after the US said over the weekend it was "obvious" the IRGC was a terror group.
But Number 10 has so far refused to proscribe the IRGC and as the "full extent” of sanctions had already been used against Tehran.
Donald Trump designated the IRGC a foreign terrorist organisation during his first term in April 2019 but Labour has so far resisted calls to proscribe the group.
The ban would make it illegal to belong to or support for it, on the grounds that doing so could end ties with Tehran.
Mr Trump said he is considering military action in Iran, adding that Iranian leaders have contacted the US to "negotiate" after he first made the threats last week.
When asked if Iran had crossed his "red line" of protesters being killed, the President said: "They're starting to, it looks like."
The protests have entered their third week which are seen as the most serious threat to the Iranian regime since 2019.
Doctors treating the injured have reported an increase in protesters being shot in the head and neck, often at close range, with live ammunition.
Among those killed include Rubina Aminian, 23, who died on Thursday after joining a protest in the capital of Tehran, having spent the day studying at Shariati College.