Iran warns it is ready for war as Trump raises military pressure

Iran’s foreign minister has warned that Tehran is prepared for war if the United States chooses to escalate, after President Donald Trump threatened military action in response to Iran’s violent crackdown on nationwide protests.

In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera Arabic on Monday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said communication channels with Washington remain open but stressed that Iran is “prepared for all options” if the US decides to “test” it militarily.

“If Washington wants to test the military option it has tested before, we are ready for it,” Araghchi said, adding that Iran now has “large and extensive military preparedness” compared with last year’s 12-day war.

His remarks came a day after Trump said he was considering “strong options” against Iran, including possible military action, as protests over economic hardship widened into broader calls for systemic change. Trump said a meeting with Tehran was being arranged to discuss Iran’s nuclear programme, “but we may have to act because of what is happening before the meeting”.

Araghchi said Iran preferred dialogue but warned that some actors were pushing Washington toward conflict. He accused unnamed forces of “trying to drag Washington into war in order to serve Israel’s interests”, and urged the US to choose what he called “the wise option” of negotiations.

“We are ready to sit at the nuclear negotiating table, provided that it is without threats or dictates,” Araghchi said, questioning whether Washington was “ready for fair and just negotiations”. “When it is ready, we will seriously consider the matter.”

The foreign minister said his communications with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff had “continued before and after the protests and are still ongoing”, adding that proposals discussed with Washington were under review in Tehran. However, he said US threats and demands were “incompatible” with diplomacy.

Iranian officials have blamed the unrest on foreign interference, with Araghchi repeating claims that “terrorist elements” had infiltrated protests and attacked both demonstrators and security forces. He said the United States and Israel were responsible for fuelling instability over the past two weeks.

State media says more than 100 members of Iran’s security forces have been killed, while opposition activists claim the overall death toll is higher and includes hundreds of protesters. Al Jazeera has not been able to independently verify the figures.

The crisis has been compounded by a nationwide internet blackout that has sharply limited information coming out of the country. NetBlocks said Iran had been offline for 96 hours as of Monday afternoon. Araghchi said services would be restored in coordination with security agencies.

Warnings have also come from Iran’s parliament. Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday that US forces and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if Washington intervenes, cautioning against what he called a dangerous “miscalculation”.

The White House, meanwhile, has suggested Iran is sending mixed signals. Spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Tehran’s private messages to Washington differed from its public warnings. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration is weighing Iran’s offer of talks even as military options remain under consideration.

The US last year bombed Iranian nuclear sites when it joined Israel’s 12-day war with Iran, an episode that continues to shape the escalating standoff now unfolding alongside Iran’s internal unrest.