“They Want to Talk”: Trump Claims Iran Reached Out as Protests Turn Deadly

As Iran grapples with its most serious unrest in years, US President Donald Trump has made a striking claim: Tehran’s leadership has reached out to him to negotiate, even as reports surface of hundreds of protesters killed during a brutal crackdown.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said Iranian leaders had contacted him after he warned of possible US military action if protesters continued to be killed.

“They want to negotiate,” Trump said, adding that a meeting was being arranged though he cautioned that the US “may have to act before a meeting.”

The comments landed as Iran enters its second week of nationwide protests, fuelled initially by rising living costs but now evolving into a direct challenge to the Islamic Republic’s political system.

A Protest Movement That Refuses to Die

Despite a near-total internet shutdown, information has continued to leak out of Iran. Videos shared from Tehran and other major cities over the past several nights show large crowds defying security forces, chanting slogans that go far beyond economic grievances.

In some areas, demonstrators have openly voiced support for Iran’s pre-revolution monarchy, a symbolic rejection of the system in place since 1979.

Rights groups warn the state response has turned deadly. The US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran says eyewitness accounts suggest hundreds of protesters have been killed, calling the situation “a massacre.”

Norway-based Iran Human Rights has verified at least 192 deaths, but says unconfirmed reports put the toll far higher possibly into the thousands. More than 2,600 people are believed to have been arrested.

One widely circulated video, geolocated to Kahrizak, south of Tehran, shows dozens of bodies wrapped in black bags outside a morgue as grieving families search for loved ones.

Tehran at a Standstill

On the ground, daily life in Tehran appears increasingly paralysed. According to journalists in the capital, food prices especially meat have surged sharply since the protests began. Many shops remain shut, and those that do open close early as security forces flood the streets by late afternoon.

State television, however, has tried to project calm. After days of unrest, broadcasters aired footage of smooth traffic flow, while Tehran’s governor insisted the number of protests was declining.

The government has declared three days of national mourning for those it calls “martyrs,” including members of the security forces. President Masoud Pezeshkian has urged citizens to take part in a “national resistance march” to condemn the violence.

A Global Spotlight and Rising Tensions

The unrest comes at a sensitive time for Iran’s leadership, following a 12-day conflict with Israel in June, backed by the United States. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, now 86, is facing one of the biggest challenges to his rule in decades.

Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, responded sharply to Trump’s threats, warning that US military assets and shipping could be targeted if Washington intervenes.

Meanwhile, opposition voices abroad are growing louder. Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran’s last shah, has positioned himself as a rallying figure, saying he is ready to return to Iran to help lead a democratic transition.

In a social media post, he urged security forces and state employees to side with protesters, warning against complicity in violence. He also called on supporters to replace Iranian embassy flags with the pre-revolution tricolour a symbol increasingly seen at global solidarity protests.

In London, demonstrators briefly succeeded in doing exactly that.

Negotiation or Brinkmanship?

Trump’s claim that Iran wants to negotiate adds another layer of uncertainty to an already volatile situation. Whether this signals genuine diplomacy or high-stakes brinkmanship remains unclear.

For now, what is certain is that Iran’s streets and the world watching them are at a critical crossroads, with lives being lost even as talk of negotiations surfaces from above.