Closing summary
We’re pausing our live coverage – thank you for reading along. Here’s a quick recap of today’s key developments:
At least 648 demonstrators have so far been killed in the ongoing crackdown by Iranian security forces against the most significant anti-government demonstrations in Iran in years, according to the latest count from the rights groups tracking the death toll. The true number, of course, could be far higher, given the difficulties arising from the days-long nationwide internet blackout. Here is a visual guide to the protest movement.
Donald Trump said the United States was considering “very strong options” to intervene in Iran, having previously threatened to intervene militarily if the regime continued to kill protesters.
Diplomatic channels between Washington and Tehran remain open, and the White House said today that Iran is sending “quite different” messages to the United States privately than what it is saying publicly, and the US has “an interest in exploring those messages”.
While diplomacy remains the “first option”, Trump is “unafraid” to respond to the killing of protesters with military force “if and when he deems that necessary”, said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. She also said that the US president’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is and “will continue” to be a key player in diplomatic discussions with Iran.
Iran’s supreme leader in turn accused the US of “deceit” and relying on “treacherous mercenaries”, while praising state-organised pro-government rallies in Tehran. You can read more about the staged rallies here.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi warned that Iran was not seeking war but was “fully prepared” for war with the US. “If Washington wants to test the military option it has tested before, we are ready for it”, Araghchi told Al Jazeera Arabic, referring to last summer’s bombings of three nuclear sites in Iran. “We have a large and extensive military preparedness compared to what we had during the last war. We are prepared for all options and hope Washington chooses the wise option.” He went on: “We are also ready for negotiations but these negotiations should be fair, with equal rights and based on mutual respect.”
The UK’s foreign secretary Yvette Cooper told Araghchi that the Iranian government must immediately end its “horrific” violence against protesters. In response, Araghchi warned the UK “to avoid interfering in Iran’s internal affairs”. He also threatened to evacuate the Iranian embassy in London.
Lastly, if it is safe for you to do so, we would like to speak to people in Iran. Could you tell us about your experience of living there during this time? How has the current situation affected your day-to-day existence? What are your thoughts on a US intervention?
We would also like to hear from Iranians living abroad. How are friends and family coping? What are your views on Trump’s comments regarding a US intervention?
Please note that while we’d like to hear from you, your security is most important. We recognise it may not always be safe or appropriate to record or share your experiences, so please think about this when considering whether to get in touch with the Guardian.
IP addresses will be recorded on a third-party web server, so for true anonymity, use our secure messaging service, however, anything submitted on the form below will be encrypted and confidential if you wish to continue.
You can share your views and experience in the form here.
Key events
Show key events only
Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
Some Iranians are still using Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service despite a nationwide communications blackout, three people inside the country said, the latest example of Starlink being used to counter internet shutdowns in geopolitical flashpoints.
Iranian authorities have in recent days launched a deadly crackdown on nationwide protests, including the near-complete shutdown of internet service, which is provided through fiber-optic cables and cellphone towers.
But Starlink, which beams its service directly from thousands of low-earth orbit satellites, is still working in some places in Iran, despite being banned by authorities there, three people using Starlink in the country told Reuters. One of them, in western Iran, said he knew dozens of people using Starlink and that users in border towns and cities were largely unaffected.
Alp Toker, founder of internet monitoring group NetBlocks, said he has heard from people in the region that there is still some Starlink access in Iran, though service appears reduced.
“It is patchy, but still there,” he said.
While it’s not clear how Starlink’s service was being disrupted in Iran, some specialists said it could be the result of jamming of Starlink terminals that would overpower their ability to receive signals from the satellites.
Starlink, which is part of privately held US company SpaceX, didn’t respond to requests for comment. Authorities in Iran could not be reached on Monday, amid phone and internet outages. Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on terrorists and vowed to safeguard the governing system.
ShareIran’s supreme leader warns US politicians to ‘end deceit’
Earlier today, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said pro-government rallies in Tehran came as a warning to US politicians to “end their deceit” and not rely on what he called “treacherous mercenaries”.
Praising the pro-government rallies, Khamenei said it had been a “historic day” and that these “vast gatherings filled with firm resolve thwarted the plans of foreign enemies that were meant to be carried out by domestic mercenaries”.
The “Iranian nation is a powerful one, is aware and knows its enemies and is present in every scene”, he added.
The great Iranian nation has asserted its resolve and identity in the face of its enemies.
This was a warning to American politicians to end their deceit and not rely on treacherous mercenaries.
Updated at 14.57 EST
AFP is reporting that non-essential French embassy staff have left Iran, citing sources close to the matter. More on this as we get it.
ShareIran’s public and private messages to the US are ‘quite different’, says White House
Karoline Leavitt also said earlier that Iran is sending “quite different” messages to the United States privately than what it is saying publicly, and the US has “an interest in exploring those messages”.
The White House press secretary told reporters:
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 didn’t elaborate on the nature or content of those messages.
Leavitt also said that Donald Trump does not want to see people “being killed in the streets of Tehran”.
He’s made it quite clear he certainly doesn’t want to see people being killed in the streets of Tehran, and unfortunately, that’s something we’re seeing right now.
And she also confirmed that the president’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is and “will continue” to be a key player in diplomatic discussions with Iran.
Updated at 14.11 EST
Trump ‘unafraid’ to use military force on Iran but wants diplomacy to be ‘first option’, says White House
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has told Fox News that diplomacy remains Donald Trump’s “first option” when it comes to Iran, but reiterated that the US president “he is unafraid to use the lethal force and might of the United States military if and when he deems that necessary”.
She similarly told a gaggle of reporters outside the White House a short while ago:
Airstrikes would be one of the many, many options that are on the table for the commander-in-chief. Diplomacy is always the first option for the president.
Leavitt said, however, that Trump is “unafraid to use the lethal force and might” of the US military “if and when he deems that necessary”.
“Nobody knows that better than Iran,” she added, referring to last summer’s US strikes on three major Iranian nuclear sites, which Trump claimed at the time had “obliterated” the facilities (though subsequent intelligence assessments and satellite imagery suggested the damage was more limited).
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks to members of the media outside the White House on Monday. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/ReutersShare
Updated at 14.15 EST
Iran’s foreign minister warns UK ‘to avoid interfering in Iran’s affairs’ and threatens to evacuate embassy
And in response to that call with Yvette Cooper, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, has warned the UK “to avoid interfering in Iran’s internal affairs”.
He also said that if the UK cannot protect diplomatic missions, “Iran would be left with no choice but to consider evacuating our personnel” from its embassy in London.
This is in reference to an incident over the weekend where a protester tore down the embassy’s Iranian flag and held up Iran’s pre-revolution flag. Here’s our story on that:
Updated at 14.06 EST
UK tells Iran to end ‘horrific’ violence against protesters
The UK’s foreign secretary Yvette Cooper has said that she has told her Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, that the government must end its violence against protesters. Cooper wrote on X:
The killing & brutal repression of peaceful protesters in Iran is horrific.
I have spoken to Foreign Minister Araghchi and told him directly: the Iranian government must immediately end the violence, uphold fundamental rights and freedoms, and ensure British nationals are safe.
ShareIranian FM says regime ready against any US military action
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has expanded on comments he gave this morning about being “ready” for war with the US in an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic.
The US joined Israel in its 12-day military operation of strikes into Iran in June
“If Washington wants to test the military option it has tested before, we are ready for it”, Araghchi told the broadcaster, referring to the summer’s bombings of three nuclear sites in Iran.
“We have a large and extensive military preparedness compared to what we had during the last war. We are prepared for all options and hope Washington chooses the wise option.”
Trump on the weekend said he was considering “very strong military action” against Iran and was weighing up his options. He claimed that Iran reached out and proposed negotiations – Aragchi confirmed on Monday that he had been in talks with Steve Witkoff, special US envoy, “before and after” the protests.
“Some ideas have been discussed with Washington and are currently being studied by us”, the Iranian foreign minister told Al Jazeera.
Updated at 12.58 EST
Ayatollah praises today’s pro-government rallies
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has publicly commented following the pro-government rallies staged across the country.
On X, he shared a picture of the demonstration in Tehran and wrote:
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. The great Iranian nation, Today you accomplished a great deed and made a historic day.”
Updated at 12.47 EST