Closing summary<\/p>\n
We\u2019re pausing our live coverage \u2013 thank you for reading along. Here\u2019s a quick recap of today\u2019s key developments:<\/p>\n
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<\/a> 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<\/a> to the protest movement.<\/p>\n Donald Trump said the United States was considering \u201cvery strong options\u201d to intervene in Iran, having previously threatened to intervene militarily if the regime continued to kill protesters.<\/p>\n Diplomatic channels between Washington and Tehran remain open<\/a>, and the White House said today that Iran is sending \u201cquite different\u201d messages to the United States<\/a> privately than what it is saying publicly, and the US has \u201can interest in exploring those messages\u201d.<\/p>\n While diplomacy remains the \u201cfirst option\u201d, Trump is \u201cunafraid\u201d to respond to the killing of protesters with military force \u201cif and when he deems that necessary\u201d, said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. She also said that the US president\u2019s special envoy Steve Witkoff is and \u201cwill continue\u201d to be a key player in diplomatic discussions with Iran.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s supreme leader in turn accused<\/a> the US of \u201cdeceit\u201d and relying on \u201ctreacherous mercenaries\u201d, while praising<\/a> state-organised pro-government rallies<\/a> in Tehran. You can read more about the staged rallies here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi warned<\/a> that Iran was not seeking war but was \u201cfully prepared\u201d for war with the US. \u201cIf Washington wants to test the military option it has tested before, we are ready for it\u201d, Araghchi told Al Jazeera Arabic, referring to last summer\u2019s bombings of three nuclear sites in Iran. \u201cWe 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.\u201d He went on: \u201cWe are also ready for negotiations but these negotiations should be fair, with equal rights and based on mutual respect.\u201d<\/p>\n The UK\u2019s foreign secretary Yvette Cooper told<\/a> Araghchi that the Iranian government must immediately end its \u201chorrific\u201d violence against protesters. In response, Araghchi warned<\/a> the UK \u201cto avoid interfering in Iran\u2019s internal affairs\u201d. He also threatened to evacuate the Iranian embassy in London.<\/p>\n Lastly, if it is safe for you to do so, we would like to speak to people in Iran<\/a>. 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?<\/p>\n We would also like to hear from Iranians living abroad. How are friends and family coping? What are your views on Trump\u2019s comments regarding a US intervention?<\/p>\n Please note that while we\u2019d 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.<\/p>\n IP addresses will be recorded on a third-party web server, so for true anonymity, use our secure messaging service<\/a>, however, anything submitted on the form below will be encrypted and confidential if you wish to continue.<\/p>\n You can share your views and experience in the form here.<\/a><\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Some Iranians are still using Elon Musk\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is patchy, but still there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n While it\u2019s not clear how Starlink\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Starlink, which is part of privately held US company SpaceX, didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Iran’s supreme leader warns US politicians to ‘end deceit’<\/p>\n Earlier today, Iran\u2019s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said pro-government rallies in Tehran came as a warning to US politicians to \u201cend their deceit\u201d and not rely on what he called \u201ctreacherous mercenaries\u201d.<\/p>\n Praising the pro-government rallies, Khamenei said it had been a \u201chistoric day\u201d and that these \u201cvast gatherings filled with firm resolve thwarted the plans of foreign enemies that were meant to be carried out by domestic mercenaries\u201d.<\/p>\n The \u201cIranian nation is a powerful one, is aware and knows its enemies and is present in every scene\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n The great Iranian nation has asserted its resolve and identity in the face of its enemies.<\/p>\n This was a warning to American politicians to end their deceit and not rely on treacherous mercenaries.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.57 EST<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Iran\u2019s public and private messages to the US are ‘quite different’, says White House<\/p>\n Karoline Leavitt also said earlier that Iran is sending \u201cquite different\u201d messages to the United States privately than what it is saying publicly, and the US has \u201can interest in exploring those messages\u201d.<\/p>\n The White House press secretary told reporters:<\/p>\n What you\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n She didn\u2019t elaborate on the nature or content of those messages.<\/p>\n Leavitt also said that Donald Trump does not want to see people \u201cbeing killed in the streets of Tehran\u201d.<\/p>\n He\u2019s made it quite clear he certainly doesn\u2019t want to see people being killed in the streets of Tehran, and unfortunately, that\u2019s something we\u2019re seeing right now.<\/p>\n And she also confirmed that the president\u2019s special envoy Steve Witkoff is and \u201cwill continue\u201d to be a key player in diplomatic discussions with Iran.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.11 EST<\/p>\n Trump ‘unafraid’ to use military force on Iran but wants diplomacy to be ‘first option’, says White House<\/p>\n White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has told Fox News that diplomacy remains Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cfirst option\u201d when it comes to Iran, but reiterated that the US president \u201che is unafraid to use the lethal force and might of the United States military if and when he deems that necessary\u201d.<\/p>\n She similarly told a gaggle of reporters outside the White House a short while ago:<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Leavitt said, however, that Trump is \u201cunafraid to use the lethal force and might\u201d of the US military \u201cif and when he deems that necessary\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody knows that better than Iran<\/a>,\u201d she added, referring to last summer\u2019s US strikes on three major Iranian nuclear sites, which Trump claimed at the time had \u201cobliterated\u201d the facilities (though subsequent intelligence assessments and satellite imagery suggested the damage was more limited).<\/p>\n White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks to members of the media outside the White House on Monday. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.15 EST<\/p>\n Iran’s foreign minister warns UK ‘to avoid interfering in Iran’s affairs’ and threatens to evacuate embassy<\/p>\n And in response to that call<\/a> with Yvette Cooper, Iran\u2019s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, has warned the UK \u201cto avoid interfering in Iran\u2019s internal affairs\u201d.<\/p>\n He also said<\/a> that if the UK cannot protect diplomatic missions, \u201cIran would be left with no choice but to consider evacuating our personnel\u201d from its embassy in London.<\/p>\n This is in reference to an incident over the weekend where a protester tore down the embassy\u2019s Iranian flag and held up Iran\u2019s pre-revolution flag. Here\u2019s our story on that:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.06 EST<\/p>\n UK tells Iran to end ‘horrific’ violence against protesters<\/p>\n The UK\u2019s 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:<\/p>\n The killing & brutal repression of peaceful protesters in Iran is horrific.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Iranian FM says regime ready against any US military action<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has expanded on comments he gave this morning about being \u201cready\u201d for war with the US in an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic.<\/p>\n The US joined Israel in its 12-day military operation of strikes into Iran in June<\/p>\n \u201cIf Washington wants to test the military option it has tested before, we are ready for it\u201d, Araghchi told the broadcaster, referring to the summer\u2019s bombings of three nuclear sites in Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump on the weekend said he was considering \u201cvery strong military action\u201d against Iran and was weighing up his options. He claimed that Iran reached out and proposed negotiations \u2013 Aragchi confirmed on Monday that he had been in talks with Steve Witkoff, special US envoy, \u201cbefore and after\u201d the protests.<\/p>\n \u201cSome ideas have been discussed with Washington and are currently being studied by us\u201d, the Iranian foreign minister told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.58 EST<\/p>\n Ayatollah praises today’s pro-government rallies<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has publicly commented following the pro-government rallies staged across the country.<\/p>\n