Trump was to meet with senior advisers on Tuesday to discuss options for Iran, a US official told Reuters on Sunday. The Wall Street Journal had reported that options included military strikes, using secret cyber weapons, widening sanctions and providing online help to anti-government sources.

"The military is looking at it, and we're looking at some very strong options," Trump told reporters travelling on Air Force One on Sunday night.

Unrest in Iran has killed more than 500 people, a rights group said on Sunday, as Tehran threatened to target US military bases if President Donald Trump carries out his renewed threats to intervene on behalf of protesters.

With the Islamic Republic's clerical establishment facing the biggest demonstrations since 2022, Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene if force is used on protesters.

According to its latest figures - from activists inside and outside Iran - US-based rights group HRANA said it had verified the deaths of 490 protesters and 48 security personnel, with more than 10,600 people arrested in two weeks of unrest.

Iranian authorities have committed a "mass killing" in cracking down on the biggest protests against the Islamic republic in years, The Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) said Sunday, as the government ordered counter-rallies in a bid to regain the initiative.

The IHR said it had confirmed the killing of at least 192 protesters but warned the actual death toll could already amount to several hundreds, or even more. The IHR has an extensive network of sources in the country.

The protests, initially sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, have evolved into a movement against the theocratic system in place in Iran since the 1979 revolution. They have already lasted two weeks.

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