Name: Iran says communication open with U.S. after weekend of protests
Uploaded: 2026-01-12T15:57:55.131Z
Duration: 2 min 15 s
Description: Iran said on Monday (January 12) it is keeping communications open with the U.S. as President Donald Trump weighed responses to a violent crackdown on protests that have posed one of the biggest challenges to clerical rule since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran said on Monday (January 12) it is keeping communications open with the U.S. as President Donald Trump weighed responses to a violent crackdown on protests that have posed one of the biggest challenges to clerical rule since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Tehran

Iranian authorities have reported that communication channels remain open with the United States after a weekend of protests that resulted in at least 490 confirmed deaths, including eight children, and over 10,000 arrests according to human rights groups. The protests, initially triggered by rising prices, have evolved into broader opposition against the clerical government and have been met with a violent crackdown, including the use of lethal force and military-grade weapons.

The Iranian government has accused the U.S. and Israel of instigating the unrest, while President Donald Trump has stated that military options are being considered in response to the violence. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakji indicated that Iran does not seek war but is prepared for it, and expressed readiness for negotiations with Washington. Information flow from Iran has been restricted due to an Internet blackout, and Reuters has been unable to independently verify the reported figures.

Iran says communication open with U.S. after weekend of protests

Iranian state television on Monday broadcast funeral processions for people who authorities claimed were killed during, quote, terrorist actions led by the United States and Israel. Tehran has accused the U.S. and Israel of fomenting trouble after a violent crackdown on protests over the weekend. Right now, we have a number of 490 confirmed protester deaths. That includes eight children. Skylar Thompson, a deputy director at Human Rights Activists in Iran based in New York, told Reuters on Sunday her group tallied more than 10,000 arrests in two weeks of clashes between protesters and government forces. We have seen the use of lethal force indiscriminately against protesters. And we have evidence of close-range gunshot wounds. We have evidence of tear gassing. We have evidence of military-grade weapons being deployed on individuals protesting in the streets. And this is absolutely unacceptable. Tehran has not given an official death toll, and Reuters was unable to independently verify the tallies. The flow of information from Iran has been hampered by an Internet blackout since Thursday. Iran's current protests began on December 28, in response to soaring prices, before turning against the clerical rulers who have governed since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran has weathered past waves of protests with crackdowns. But this time, Tehran faces the unrest after seeing its regional clout depleted, including the defeat of allies in Syria. And the country is still rebuilding from a war with Israel last year that included U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he was weighing responses to the violence, including a military option. DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States of America, but we're looking at it very seriously. The military is looking at it. And we're looking at some very strong options. We'll make a determination. Trump said that Iran had called to negotiate on its nuclear program. A U.S. official told Reuters Trump was to meet with senior advisers on Tuesday to discuss options for Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakji on Monday said Iran did not seek war, but was prepared for it. He said the situation was under total control, and that Tehran was ready for negotiations with Washington. Arakji said more than 50 mosques had been set on fire since the protests erupted, and that no Iranian would attack a mosque.

Malaysia and Indonesia have become the first countries to block Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk's company xAI, amid concerns that it is being misused to generate sexually explicit and nonconsensual images.

Malaysia and Indonesia block Musk’s Grok over sexualized AI images

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has welcomed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is on a two-day visit. Merz is traveling with a large business delegation as Germany seeks to deepen economic and security ties.

New Delhi

Germany's Merz makes first official visit to India

Authorities arrested a suspect after a fire badly damaged the largest synagogue in Mississippi. Investigators say the fire pattern and video surveillance point to arson.

Jackson

Suspect arrested in alleged arson attack at Mississippi synagogue

Fallout from the fatal shooting of Renee Good by a U.S. immigration and customs enforcement officer in Minneapolis continues with government officials standing by the action and ordering more ICE officers into the city.

Minneapolis

Hundreds more ICE agents headed to Minneapolis after fatal shooting

Powell said the investigation, linked to a testimony he gave to a Senate committee about renovations to Fed buildings, was an attempt to limit central bank independence.

Washington

U.S. opens criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell

Protests continue in Iran amid a violent government crackdown. Activists say hundreds of demonstrators have been killed. President Trump says Iran now wants to negotiate to prevent a U.S. military response.

Trump says Iran 'wants to negotiate' as protests intensify

President Trump says Iranian leaders have reached out to the U.S. to negotiate, as massive protests continue and more deaths are reported by activists.

Trump weighs military option in Iran amid rising death toll

President Trump has been briefed on new military options for a strike against Iran amid widespread protests and a government crackdown on communications for Iranians, a senior U.S. official tells CBS News. "We'll be hitting them very hard where it hurts," he said at the White House.

Trump briefed on new military options for Iran strikes amid protests

Demonstrations in Iran are now entering their third week and the death toll is surging with hundreds killed, according to a human rights group. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei insisted that the Islamic regime will "not back down" in the face of the growing social unrest and calls for regime change.

Protests in Iran intensifying despite threat of death for dissidents

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas showcased a wide array of AI-powered innovations, including paper-thin televisions, interactive Lego, and binoculars that can identify bird species in real time. Notable breakthroughs included .Lumen's AI glasses for the visually impaired and Roborock's Saros Rover, a robotic vacuum cleaner capable of navigating stairs and various surfaces autonomously.

Las Vegas

Rise of AI

AI-powered innovation dominates Consumer Electronics show

Human remains were found in Australia's southeast where bushfires raging for days have razed buildings, cut power to thousands of homes and burned swaths of bushland, police said. The blazes are burning out of control during a summer heat wave in Victoria state.

Victoria

'Gut-wrenching': Australian bushfires expected to burn for weeks

Anti-government protests in Iran show no sign of stopping. Human rights groups are putting the death toll at 116 with 2600 detained. U.S. President Donald Trump has reaffirmed U.S. support for the protesters.

Protests in Iran defy government crackdown

Iran's army is threatening to join the crackdown on protesters as demonstrations against the regime grow and the death toll mounts. Huge crowds have taken to the streets across the Islamic Republic. Iran's Revolutionary Guard calls them "terrorists." Haley Ott has more details.

Iran's army threatens to join crackdown against protesters

President Trump said, "We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not," earlier this week. But Greenland, a territory of Denmark and a NATO ally, is rejecting the threats.

Nuuk

Greenland rejects Trump's threats

Trump, who often cites national security interests as the reason for taking Greenland, said that if the US does not do something, 'Russia or China will take over Greenland'.

Trump says U.S will act on Greenland, 'whether they like it or not'

Protests across the U.S., including in Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Miami, are taking place following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Police declared the demonstrations in downtown Minneapolis an 'unlawful assembly'.

Philadelphia

Protests spread across the U.S. over ICE shooting of woman

Internet and phone lines in Iran have been cut off as anti-government protests enter their second week. Reports say at least 65 people have been killed and more than 2,300 others detained. U.S. President Donald Trump has warned of a possible U.S. response to the government crackdown.

Internet blackout in Iran enters second day as protests intensify

Rescue workers are trying to find dozens of people trapped under a collapsed landfill in the Philippines. At least four people have been confirmed dead. The incident took place on Thursday, with more than 100 workers on site at the time.

Cebu City

Philippines: Dozens still missing in landfill collapse

BRICS nations have launched joint naval exercises off the South African coast. Supporters say the drills will strengthen co-operation among emerging economies.  But critics warn they could deepen global divisions.

Simon's Town

South Africa hosts Russia, Iran and China for military exercise

Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned on Saturday that safeguarding security was a "red line" and the military vowed to protect public property, as the clerical establishment stepped up efforts to quell the most widespread protests in years.

Iran authorities signal intensified crackdown as unrest grows

Luigi Mangione was back in court on Friday, where his lawyers worked to block the Justice Department from seeking the death penalty in his federal trial for the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione pleaded not guilty in April 2025.

New York

Luigi Mangione's lawyers fight to block death penalty

Fire crews battle spreading blazes while communities face evacuations and power cuts.

Thousands of firefighters deployed to fight bushfires in Australia

The protest comes amid wider rallies against US immigration enforcement and over the fatal shooting of the 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good.

Several arrested in Minneapolis during anti-ICE protest

Trump says U.S. will act on Greenland, 'whether they like it or not'

U.S. President Donald Trump began a meeting to discuss Venezuela with executives from some of the world's largest oil companies at the White House, saying he wants them to invest $100 billion in the country to vastly expand its production.

Venezuela Strikes

Trump urges U.S. oil giants to repair Venezuela's energy industry

The U.S. seized another oil tanker linked to Venezuela in the Caribbean, U.S. Southern Command confirmed on Friday (January 9). The seizure of the vessel comes as President Donald Trump prepares to meet with oil company executives at the White House.

U.S. seizes fifth tanker linked to Venezuela

U.S. President Donald Trump is reiterating his threats against Iran's regime if violence and deaths continue during protests. CBS News' Imtiaz Tyab has more.

Trump: U.S. to hit Iran 'very hard' if violence continues at protests

Russia fired a powerful hypersonic missile overnight at a target in Ukraine near the border with NATO-member Poland, in what Kyiv's European allies described as an attempt to intimidate them from supporting Ukraine.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Russia fires hypersonic missile at Ukraine target near NATO border

A majority of European Union countries have agreed to sign a trade deal with the South American trading bloc, Mercosur. It'll be the EU's biggest free-trade pact and comes after decades of negotiations.

Brussels

EU approves Mercosur trade deal despite protests

The Trump administration is pulling the U.S. out of dozens of international organizations, including key UN agencies and the treaty underpinning global climate talks, marking a deepening retreat from multilateral cooperation.

Breakdown