United States President Donald Trump is considering what action to take against Iran, according to multiple reports.
He is scheduled to be briefed on Tuesday on options for responding to Iran's treatment of protesters, according to U.S. officials.
The U.S. threatened Iran over the killing of protestors but Trump said Iranian leaders called him and said “they want to negotiate”.
However, he also added that the U.S. “may have to act before a meeting”.
Speaking Sunday to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he had been reviewing military options to strike Iran.
“We’re looking at some very strong options,” he said.
The BBC reported that Iran threatened to retaliate if attacked by the U.S..
"Things here are very, very bad," a source in Tehran said on Sunday.
"A lot of our friends have been killed. They were firing live rounds. It's like a war zone, the streets are full of blood. They're taking away bodies in trucks."
Trump said in the event that Iran retaliated to an American attack by targeting U.S. troops in the region, “we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before”.
The U.S. president isn’t expected to make a final decision at the Tuesday meeting as deliberations are still at an early stage.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine are expected to attend the Tuesday meeting, according to officials.
More than 500 have been killed during the protests, according to the U.S.-based human rights group, Human Rights Activist News Agency.
The protests, which began on 28 December, were in response to soaring prices and have turned to target the clerical rulers who have governed since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
In response to the protests, the Iranian government shut down internet access.
Iranian digital rights expert Amir Rashidi said international calls to the country appear to be blocked and domestic mobile phones have no service.