Almost 650 killed in Iran protests, rights group says, as supreme leader issues warning to US
Trump must decide whether to follow through on his threatpublished at 17:40 GMT 12 January
Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent
Image source, ReutersDonald Trump faces a dilemma in Iran – act decisively and risk triggering unforeseen domestic and regional consequences, or stand by while Iranian protesters are gunned down and risk losing face.
It’s been ten days since he warned that the US was “locked and loaded and ready to go”, telling Iranian protesters the United States would “come to their rescue” if the Iranian authorities reacted with violence.
At the time, there was little sign of a widespread, violent crackdown from Iranian security forces. That has clearly changed.
So the president must now decide whether to follow through on his threat, and how.
That will be the focus of a meeting with top military and security officials, scheduled to take place tomorrow.
The president has given few clues as to the nature of his response, except to tell reporters that he’s “looking at some very strong options”.
But he’s also hinted that regime change is on his mind.
“Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before,” he posted on social media on Saturday. “The USA stands ready to help!!!”
But he says the Iranian authorities reached out over the weekend, wanting to negotiate – Trump didn’t say what about.
The president said the two sides were working on arranging a meeting – but wanting to maintain pressure and an aura of unpredictability, Trump said he might be compelled to act first.
