PRESIDENT Donald Trump has warned the Ayatollah that he is “looking at some very strong options” for Iran.
The US president could attack the country as soon as tomorrow, despite the tyrant Ali Khamenei begging Trump to negotiate instead.
The Don told reporters on Air Force One that the Middle Eastern country was close to crossing a “red line”, and that the US military is considering taking action.
Trump said: “There seem to be some people killed that aren’t supposed to be killed.
“These are violent – if you call them leaders, I don’t know if they’re leaders or just they rule through violence – but we’re looking at it very seriously.
“The military’s looking at it. We’re looking at some very strong options, we’ll make a determination.”
Trump’s warning came as reports emerged of the hundreds killed in a brutal crackdown against Iranian demonstrators – and the regime has vowed to retaliate if the US launches strikes.
Footage shows dozens of body bags piled up outside a coroner’s office in the country’s capital, as people form queues to identify the bodies of loved ones.
More than 500 protesters have been killed by the Ayatollah’s ruthless security forces, according to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
The demonstrators killed were shot with live ammunition and air guns, mainly from close range.
After two weeks of bloodshed, HRANA said the verified death toll has risen to 544 – a huge increase on their previous figure of 203.
More than 500 other reports of demonstrator deaths are also under investigation by the agency – the total killed would rise to over a thousand if these reports are found to be credible.
More than 10,000 people have been arrested in what has been the Islamic Republic’s biggest protests since 2009.
Yet Iran’s foreign minister said on Monday that “the situation has come under total control”, offering no evidence to support his claim.
Abbas Araghchi alleged that protests had “turned violent and bloody to give an excuse” for US intervention.
Last week, Trump threatened to “hit” Iran “very hard” if the regime killed protesters.
The US president said: “I have let them know that if they start killing people, which they tend to do during their riots – they have lots of riots – we are going to hit them very hard.
“We’re watching it very closely. They have been told very strongly that if they do that they are going to have to pay hell.”
Washington is considering cyber attacks to punish Iran for killing protesters, The Telegraph reported.
Trump has reportedly been presented with options for military attack on the country, but has been told by officials it is too early for full-scale strikes.
Instead, the US president will reportedly be given options for a range of non-lethal measures, including the use of secret cyber weapons against Iran.
“The Americans certainly haven’t ruled out striking the regime, they are in touch with their regional allies who are assessing the situation”, one source told the Daily Mail.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told Trump to take out the Ayatollah himself, calling tyrant Seyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei a “religious Nazi”.
Senator Graham said: “If I were you, Mr. President, I would kill the leadership that are killing the people.
“You gotta end this.
“Stand with the people, Mr. President. Let them know you’re going to kill their oppressors.”
The US state department posted on social media: “Do not play games with President Trump. When he says he’ll do something, he means it.”
While Trump’s threats of military action are not to be taken lightly, the president said the US may meet Iranian officials for talks.
“We are ready for war but also for dialogue”, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said.
Th US president said Tehran had called him at the weekend but added that the situation may demand military action before diplomacy has a chance.
He said: “We may have to act before a meeting.”
A 23-year-old Iranian student has been identified as one of the hundreds killed in the unrest.
Rubina Aminian was reportedly shot in the back of the head while demonstrating in Tehran – before her family were forced to search through hundreds of bodies to identify her.
She was buried by a roadside after her family’s home was surrounded by Iranian security forces, reports said.
The fashion student had joined protests against the Iranian regime after a day of classes at Tehran’s Shariati College.
Desperate Iranian leaders flooded the population with texts pleading with them to join pro-government street protests, amidst a days-long internet blackout.
It comes as huge crowds gathered outside the Iranian embassy in London this weekend.
One protester tore down the Islamic Republic’s flag, replacing it with the pre-revolution Lion and Sun flag.
Those in the crowds were also seen burning photos of Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
THE SUN ON SUNDAY SAYS Britain must back freedom and stand with courageous rebels in Iran
YOU would think the attempts by thousands of freedom protesters to overthrow a brutal, murderous regime would warrant some serious support from any British government.
After all we are talking about a tyranny which has promoted terror across the globe and threatened the West with a far-reaching nuclear programme.
But, apart from Sir Keir Starmer’s mealy-mouthed joint European statement calling for “restraint”, the mass uprising against Iran’s blood-soaked supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been received by near- silence from the Labour hierarchy.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper seems to have lost her voice and the mass ranks of government MPs have hardly breathed a dicky bird.
Not a single Labour MP on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee has even so much as tweeted.
Compare that to the party’s fire and fury which blazed daily against Israel for its response to the worst antisemitic attack since the Holocaust.
Perhaps Labour fears upsetting its Muslim base?
The PM says Britain’s shared values include “common respect for freedom, democracy, liberty.’’
Yet for almost 50 years the monstrous mullahs of Iran have overseen a brutal Islamic Republic which uses lethal force against women who don’t wear head coverings.
They have obliterated the right to freedom of expression and anyone in a same-sex relationship could face the death penalty.
Donald Trump’s bold strike against the country’s nuclear programme last year dealt it a devastating political blow.
Now the crumbling economy could be the final nail in the coffin of 86-year-old Khamenei and his barbarous henchmen.
But as they see their powerbase crumbling, the regime’s leaders have arrested almost 2,500 people, including 166 children, and used military grade weapons against unarmed protesters.
It is time for the PM to show his principles count. He and his foreign secretary should throw their wholehearted support behind this uprising.
If Britain backs freedom, democracy and liberty it must stand united with the courageous rebels in Iran.