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US President Donald Trump has options to intervene in protest-hit Iran that range from low to high risk, but choosing his course depends on him deciding his ultimate goal.It has been 10 days since Trump said the United States was “locked and loaded” and ready to “come to the rescue” if Iran’s clerical state kills demonstrators who have taken to the streets in major numbers.Since then, Trump has kept threatening a military option, even as hundreds of people have died, according to rights groups.Iran has been a sworn foe of the United States since the 1979 Islamic revolution toppled the pro-Western shah. The downfall of the Islamic republic in power since then would transform the Middle East.But Trump has previously lashed out against “regime change” as a goal, especially pointing to lessons from US involvement in Iraq, a smaller country.Trump on Monday exercised economic leverage, announcing 25 percent tariffs on Iran’s trading partners, and he has spoken of ways to forcibly restore internet access shut by Tehran.The two governments have also revealed that they have been in communication, coordinated by Trump’s friend and roving envoy Steve Witkoff.- Momentum on streets -In a message likely designed to galvanize Trump, Reza Pahlavi, the US-exiled son of the late shah, has publicly encouraged Trump not to be like Democratic predecessor Barack Obama, who hesitated at supporting 2009 protests for fear of co-opting a homegrown movement.Some experts say that Obama’s fears nearly a generation ago may no longer be as relevant, with demonstrations having spread well beyond educated, urban circles that always opposed the religious state.Ray Takeyh, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who wrote a book about the fall of the late shah, said that Trump could target forces including the elite Revolutionary Guards that have taken the lead in repressing the protests.Intervention could ease Iranians’ fears and “affect the fence-sitters in thinking about joining the protests or not,” Takeyh said.Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the Chatham House think tank, agreed that intervention by Trump could bring momentum on the streets.But she said: “It could equally play further into the hands of a regime that is paranoid and this would build further unity and propel them to crack down further.”- How much action needed? -Trump in June ordered strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in support of an Israeli campaign.While Trump had previously spoken of a diplomatic resolution, the attack was in line with his inclination, as seen again recently in Venezuela, for one-off military operations he quickly claims as successes.Vali Nasr, a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, noted 130 to 150 Iranian cities have seen protests.”Trying to hit security forces in all of these, or even major cities of Iran, is more than just a few airstrikes,” Nasr said.As Trump likely “doesn’t want to get his hands dirty, a performative strike may be more where he wants to go,” Nasr said.Behnam Ben Taleblu, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the risk from intervention was less that Iranians rally around the flag than that they become afraid to go out.”The challenge of the strikes is how to make sure they don’t lead to the disbursement of protesters rather than the amplification of protests, if the strikes go off the rails — if targeting is poor, if intelligence is poor,” he said.He said the impact would also be high if Trump finally decides not to strike.Inaction would “play into the regime’s narrative of painting America as not able to actually come through,” Ben Taleblu said.Pahlavi and a number of Republican hawks have voiced opposition to diplomacy, warning it would only give the Islamic republic a lifeline.  But Mohammad Ali Shabani, editor of the Amwaj.media site that closely follows Iran, believed many Iranians would welcome a deal that eases sanctions and “lifts the shadow of war.””I think this would supersede any kind of short-term survival for the Islamic republic because the way things are structured, I think most Iranians at this point accept that the Islamic republic is not going to be there forever.”

A violent crackdown on a wave of protests in Iran has killed at least 648 people, a rights group said on Monday, as Iranian authorities sought to regain control of the streets with mass nationwide rallies. The government’s call for rallies in support of the Islamic republic drew thousands on Monday, a turnout supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hailed as proof that the protests — which the authorities attribute to foreign interference — had been defeated. Rights groups have warned an internet blackout that monitor Netblocks says has lasted four days was aimed at masking a deadly crackdown on the protests.The Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) said it had confirmed 648 people killed during the protests, including nine minors, and thousands more injuries, but warned the death toll was likely much higher — “according to some estimates more than 6,000”.IHR added that the internet shutdown made it “extremely difficult to independently verify these reports”, saying an estimated 10,000 people had been arrested. “The international community has a duty to protect civilian protesters against mass killing by the Islamic republic,” said IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene militarily if Tehran killed protesters, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saying on Monday that military options including air strikes were still “on the table”, but “diplomacy is always the first option for the president”. More than two weeks of demonstrations initially sparked by economic grievances have turned into one of the biggest challenges yet to the theocratic system that has ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution ousted the shah.Khamenei, in power since 1989 and now 86, said in a statement that Monday’s pro-government rallies were a “warning” to the United States. “These massive rallies, full of determination, have thwarted the plan of foreign enemies that were supposed to be carried out by domestic mercenaries,” he said, according to state TV. – ‘Four-front war’ -In the capital Tehran, state TV showed people brandishing the national flag and prayers read for victims of what the government has termed “riots”. At Enghelab (Revolution) Square, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told the crowd that Iran was fighting a “four-front war”, listing economic war, psychological war, “military war” with the United States and Israel, and “today a war against terrorists” — a reference to the protests. Flanked by the slogans “Death to Israel, Death to America” in Persian, he vowed the Iranian military would teach Trump “an unforgettable lesson” if Iran were attacked. But Trump said Sunday that Iran’s leadership had called him seeking “to negotiate”, and Leavitt noted public messages from Iranian authorities were “quite different from the messages the administration is receiving privately”.Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told a conference of foreign ambassadors in Tehran that Iran was “not seeking war but is fully prepared for war”, while calling for “fair” negotiations.Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said a channel of communication was open between Araghchi and Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff despite the lack of diplomatic relations. Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran’s ousted shah who has been vocal in calling for protests, told CBS news the government was “trying to trick the world into thinking that (it) is ready to negotiate once again”. He said Trump was “a man that means what he says and says what he means” and who “knows what’s at stake”.”The red line that was drawn has been definitely surpassed by this regime.” – ‘Respect for their rights’ -State outlets were at pains to present a picture of calm returning in Tehran, broadcasting images of smooth-flowing traffic. Tehran Governor Mohammad-Sadegh Motamedian insisted in televised comments that “the number of protests is decreasing”. Iranian state media has said dozens of members of the security forces have been killed, with their funerals turning into large pro-government rallies. The government has declared three days of national mourning for those killed.The European Union has voiced support for the protesters and on Monday said it was “looking into” imposing additional sanctions on Iran over the repression of demonstrations. The European Parliament also announced it had banned all Iranian diplomats and representatives from the assembly’s premises. The Iranian foreign ministry said it had summoned diplomats in Tehran representing France, Germany, Italy and the UK, demanding they “withdraw official statements supporting the protesters”. French President Emmanuel Macron, however, issued a statement later Monday condemning “the state violence that indiscriminately targets Iranian women and men who courageously demand respect for their rights”. Non-essential French embassy staff left Iran on Sunday and Monday, two sources with knowledge of the matter told AFP.Tehran ally Russia, for its part, slammed what it called attempts by “foreign powers” to interfere in Iran, state media reported, in Moscow’s first reaction to the protests.

Israel will take part in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest on May 12 in Vienna, according to the draw on Monday, as five countries are staying away this year over Israel’s participation.The world’s biggest live televised music event heads into its 70th anniversary edition mired in its biggest-ever political boycott, with just 35 countries set to part — the fewest since entry was expanded in 2004.Israel will compete against 14 other countries, including past Eurovision winners Estonia, Finland, Greece, Portugal, Serbia and Sweden, for spots in the May 16 final, the draw at Vienna’s City Hall revealed.In the other semi-final held on May 14, the 15 countries vying for spots include past winners Azerbaijan, Denmark, Latvia, Norway, Ukraine and Switzerland, according to the draw.From each semi-final, 10 songs that get the most points from the jury combined with a public vote will qualify for the final.Host Austria and the biggest financial contributors France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom automatically qualify for the final.Public broadcasters in Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain have all announced they are boycotting this year’s event.Matters came to a head over widespread concerns about the conduct of Israel’s two-year war in Gaza.There were suspicions too that the televoting system was being manipulated to boost Israel after it comfortably topped the public voting in Basel at Eurovision 2025, with extraordinary sequences of maximum points from other countries.Some broadcasters also raised concerns about EBU values and media freedom, with Israel preventing their journalists from accessing Gaza, while targeting and killing Palestinian journalists in the territory.EBU members have adopted measures aimed at improving the voting system, enhancing fraud detection and curbing government-backed promotional campaigns.Abolished in 2022, professional juries of music experts are returning in the semi-finals with expanded, more diverse panels that include young jurors aged 18 to 25.Austria is hosting the contest in Vienna after Austrian artist JJ won in Basel, Switzerland, last year.Austrian broadcaster ORF is presenting the 2026 edition.

US President Donald Trump is considering air strikes on Iran to stop a crackdown on protesters, the White House said Monday, adding that people were being “killed on the streets.” But a channel for diplomacy remains open, with Iran taking a “far different tone” in private discussions with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, said Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.”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 for the commander in chief,” Leavitt told reporters outside the West Wing.Leavitt added that “diplomacy is always the first option for the president.” “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,” Leavitt added.Iran’s foreign ministry said earlier Monday that a channel of communication was open between its top diplomat Abbas Araghchi and Trump’s special envoy, despite a lack of diplomatic relations.Trump said on Sunday that the US military was considering “very strong options” against Iran, saying it “looks like” Tehran had crossed his previously stated red line of protesters being killed.He said Iran’s leaders had reached out for a meeting but “we may have to act before a meeting.”Rights groups have reported a growing death toll, with information continuing to trickle out of Iran despite a days-long internet shutdown.Leavitt appeared to confirm there had been deaths.”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,” Leavitt said.

The UK government has paid “substantial” compensation to a Guantanamo detainee who was tortured by the CIA and has been held there without charge for two decades, his lawyer said Monday.Abu Zubaydah, 54, was the first of a number of prisoners to be subjected to CIA “enhanced interrogation” techniques following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.The Saudi-born Palestinian — whose full name is Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn — was captured in Pakistan in 2002 and has been held without trial at the US Guantanamo Bay military camp in Cuba since 2006.He was waterboarded 83 times and suffered other physical abuse, according to a US Senate report, which said the CIA conceded he was never a member of Al-Qaeda and not involved in planning the 9/11 attacks.Britain’s Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that he could use English law in a legal claim against the UK government over alleged complicity in the torture.Helen Duffy, his international legal counsel, said in a statement sent to AFP that the case had now reached a financial settlement.”The payment is significant, but clearly insufficient to meet the UK’s obligations. More must be done to bring this chapter to an end,” said Duffy. “Critically, the UK should seek to facilitate the immediate release of Abu Zubaydah, and other prisoners held without charge or trial at Guantanamo,” she said.She added that, among other tactics, Zubaydah was also locked into a coffin-sized box for 11 days and two hours, “left to marinate in his own urine and faeces”.Zubaydah alleged that London was “vicariously liable” for multiple wrongs against him, including conspiracy to injure, false imprisonment and negligence.He sought personal damages for injuries which he says were sustained during interrogation at CIA “black site” facilities in Thailand, Poland, Morocco, Lithuania and Afghanistan, as well as Guantanamo.He has not argued that UK forces were involved in his capture, rendition to the facilities or were present during his mistreatment.But he accused Britain’s intelligence agencies — MI5 and MI6 — of being aware of his torture, and even “sent numerous questions” to the CIA for the purpose of eliciting information from him.- Two other cases -The UK government declined to comment.It has neither admitted nor denied that officials knew where Zubaydah was being held at any given time, or that they were aware of his treatment, arguing they cannot do so for national security reasons.It has argued that the laws of the six countries where Zubaydah was held should apply to the case.But in 2023 the UK Supreme Court upheld an earlier Court of Appeal ruling that the laws of England and Wales applied.For years, calls have multiplied in the UK, to no avail, for full disclosure about the actions of British secret services in the US “war on terror” alongside their American allies.In 2023, lawyers for two other Guantanamo detainees — Mustafa al-Hawsawi and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri — accused Britain of being “complicit” with the CIA in their torture after 9/11.Both brought civil complaints to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) — a specialist UK court that investigates complaints about UK intelligence agencies.In October the body ruled that, in Hawsawi’s case, the intelligence services did not act unlawfully.Nashiri’s case is still ongoing.

Reza Pahlavi, who as a boy was groomed to be the next shah of imperial Iran but has spent nearly five decades in exile, has emerged as a rallying figure in the protests shaking the Islamic republic.The chant of “Pahlavi will come back!” has become a mantra for many of the protesters, while the US-based 65-year-old has urged nightly actions in video messages.Pahlavi’s prominence in the protest movement has surprised some observers.Pahlavi has during the latest protest wave shown an “ability to turn out Iranians in the streets,” said Jason Brodsky, policy director at the US-based group United Against Nuclear Iran.”There have been clear pro-Pahlavi chants at the protests. Does that mean every Iranian protesting wants a return of the monarchy? No, but there is a nostalgia for the Pahlavi era that has been building for some time,” he added.In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Pahlavi said he was “prepared to return to Iran at the first possible opportunity”.He has not set foot in his home country since before the Islamic revolution that ousted his father Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1979 and ended thousands of years of monarchy dating back to Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid empire, and beyond.- ‘Seems a nice person’ -Reza Pahlavi was outside Iran at the time of the revolution, after leaving in the summer of 1978, aged 17, for military pilot training in the United States. His father died in Egypt in 1980, although his mother — former empress and the shah’s third wife Farah, now 87 — is still alive.Clement Therme, a non-resident fellow at the International Institute for Iranian Studies, said Pahlavi had not been tainted by the excesses of the imperial rule because he left in his late teens.”He is a symbol. His name is well-known,” Therme said, describing Pahlavi as the “main popular opposition figure” within and outside of Iran.Pahlavi has always insisted he does not intend to be crowned king of Iran but is ready to lead a transition towards a free and democratic country.But he remains a polarising figure — even within Iran’s divided opposition. While swift to condemn the repression that has marked the history of the Islamic republic, he has never distanced himself from his father’s autocratic rule, which was harshly enforced by the dreaded SAVAK secret police.An attempt to unify the fractious opposition during previous protests in 2023 immediately triggered tensions and ended in acrimony when Pahlavi made a highly publicised visit to Israel that wasn’t coordinated with allied groups.Pro-Pahlavi accounts on social media have for years energetically attacked other opposition figures, with monarchists sparring with supporters of Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, who is currently in prison in Iran.Pahlavi has long called for a secular Iran that offers greater social freedoms, especially for women, as well as space for supporters of the Islamic republic, but his own approach contrasts with that of some around him who have advocated retribution against opponents. “Pahlavi has many supporters in Iran and his popularity has increased in recent days as he is seen as the only nationally known opposition leader with something of a plan to confront the regime,” said Arash Azizi, a lecturer at Yale University.”But his supporters are still a minority in a highly divided country and a highly divided opposition scene. Instead of working to unify the opposition, most of his camp in recent years have helped alienate others and actively oppose them.”He has also yet to win international recognition as an alternative leader for Iran — even in the current situation.”I’ve watched him, and he seems like a nice person, but I’m not sure it would be appropriate at this point to do that (meet him) as president,” US President Donald Trump said last week.- ‘Galvanise a nation’ -As well as witnessing the downfall of his father, Reza Pahlavi has endured family tragedy. In June 2001, his younger sister Leila was found dead in a London hotel room. An inquest later found that the former princess, who for years had reportedly suffered from depression and an eating disorder, had taken a fatal cocktail of prescription drugs and cocaine.And in January 2011, his younger brother Ali Reza shot himself dead at his home in Boston in a suicide the family said came after he had “struggled for years to overcome his sorrow” over the loss of his homeland, father and sister.He has one surviving full sibling, his sister Farahnaz, who also lives in the United States but keeps a far lower profile, as does his half-sister Shahnaz whose mother was the shah’s first wife Fawzia.”The end of the regime is near… this is our Berlin Wall moment,” he told AFP in June while on a visit to Paris.”I am stepping in to lead this transition. I don’t believe I need a title to play that role. The important thing is to be someone who can galvanise a nation.”

Iranian authorities on Monday sought to regain control of the streets with mass nationwide rallies in the wake of protests on a scale unprecedented in recent years, as alarm grew over a deadly crackdown.The foreign minister said Iran was ready for both war and talks after repeated threats from Washington to intervene militarily over the crackdown on protests, which activists fear has left at least hundreds dead.Over two weeks of demonstrations initially sparked by economic grievances have turned into one of the biggest challenges yet to the theocratic system that has ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution ousted the shah.In a sign of the severity of the crisis, the authorities have imposed an internet blackout lasting more than three-and-a-half days that activists say is aimed at masking the extent of the crackdown.Seeking to regain the initiative, the government called for rallies nationwide backing the Islamic republic on Monday. Thousands of people filled the capital’s Enghelab (Revolution) Square brandishing the national flag as prayers were read for victims of what the government has termed “riots”, state TV showed.Addressing the crowds, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran is fighting a “four-front war”, listing economic war, psychological war, “military war” with the United States and Israel and “today a war against terrorists”, referring to the protests. Flanked by the slogans “Death to Israel, Death to America” in Persian, he vowed the Iranian military would teach US President Donald Trump “an unforgettable lesson” if Iran were attacked. Trump said Sunday that Iran’s leadership under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in power since 1989 and now 86, had called him seeking “to negotiate” after he repeatedly threatened to intervene militarily if Tehran killed protesters.”The Islamic Republic of Iran is not seeking war but is fully prepared for war,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told a conference of foreign ambassadors in Tehran broadcast by state television. “We are also ready for negotiations but these negotiations should be fair, with equal rights and based on mutual respect.”Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said a channel of communication is open between Araghchi and Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff despite the lack of diplomatic relations. Meanwhile, the foreign minister of Oman, which has on occasion acted as a mediator, met Araghchi in Tehran on Saturday. – Soaring toll -The European Union has voiced support for the protesters and on Monday said it was “looking into” imposing additional sanctions on Iran over the repression of demonstrations. Iran’s shutdown of the internet has now lasted more than 84 hours, said monitor Netblocks. The blackout has severely affected the ability of Iranians to post videos of the protests that have rocked big cities since Thursday.A video circulating on Sunday showed dozens of bodies outside a morgue south of Tehran.The footage, geolocated by AFP to the district of Kahrizak, showed bodies wrapped in black bags, with what appeared to be grieving relatives searching for loved ones.The Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) said it confirmed the killing of at least 192 protesters but that the actual toll could be much higher.”Unverified reports indicate that at least several hundreds, and according to some sources, more than 2,000 people, may have been killed,” said IHR.More than 2,600 protesters have been arrested, IHR estimated.The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said it had confirmed the deaths of 544 people.Iranian state media has said dozens of members of the security forces have been killed, with their funerals turning into large pro-government rallies. The government has declared three days of national mourning for those killed. State outlets were at pains to present a picture of calm returning, broadcasting images of smooth-flowing traffic. Tehran Governor Mohammad-Sadegh Motamedian insisted in televised comments that “the number of protests is decreasing”.- ‘Stand with the people’ -Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran’s ousted shah, urged Iran’s security forces and government workers to join the protests against the authorities.”Employees of state institutions, as well as members of the armed and security forces, have a choice: stand with the people and become allies of the nation, or choose complicity with the murderers of the people,” he said in a social media post.He also urged protesters to replace the flags outside Iranian embassies. “The time has come for them to be adorned with Iran’s national flag,” he said.The ceremonial, pre-revolution flag has become an emblem of the global rallies that have mushroomed in support of Iran’s demonstrators.