On Monday, Americans residing in Iran were urged to leave the country without delay as former President Donald Trump considered his options in response to the violent protests that have claimed nearly 600 lives.

The U.S. virtual embassy in Iran issued a warning to American citizens, emphasizing the heightened risk of staying in the country amidst the current unrest and advising them to “leave Iran now.”

Americans were cautioned to anticipate ongoing internet disruptions, suggesting they arrange alternative communication methods. They were also advised to consider traveling by land to neighboring Armenia or Turkey if it could be done safely.

For those unable to exit Iran, the advisory recommended finding a secure location at home or another safe building equipped with essential supplies.

Meanwhile, President Trump has consistently warned Tehran of potential U.S. military intervention should his administration determine that the Islamic Republic is using lethal force against anti-government demonstrators.

In addition to air strikes, Trump has been briefed on cyber and psychological operations that could be launched inside the country, according to CBS News. 

Trump said Monday that Iran’s trade partners will face 25 percent tariffs from the United States in his first direct response to the protests.

China, Brazil, Turkey and Russia are among economies that do business with Tehran. 

President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran’s trade partners will face 25 percent tariffs from the United States as he looks to pressure Tehran over its violent protest crackdown that’s left nearly 600 dead across the country

The president has repeatedly threatened Tehran with US military action, if his administration found the Islamic Republic was using deadly force against antigovernment protesters

‘Effective immediately, any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America,’ Trump said in a post on Truth Social. 

‘This Order is final and conclusive,’ he said. 

Iran had no direct reaction to Trump’s comments, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. 

It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense. 

‘That’s why the demonstrations turned violent and bloody to give an excuse to the American president to intervene,’ Araghchi said, in comments carried by Al Jazeera. 

The Qatar-funded network has been allowed to report live from inside Iran, despite the internet being shut off.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to foreign diplomats in Tehran, insisted ‘the situation has come under total control’ in remarks that blamed Israel and the US for the violence, without offering evidence. 

China, Brazil, Turkey and Russia are among economies that do business with Tehran. Pictured: Chinese President Xi Jinping

However, Araghchi said Iran was ‘open to diplomacy.’ Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said that a channel to the US remained open, but talks needed to be ‘based on the acceptance of mutual interests and concerns, not a negotiation that is one-sided, unilateral and based on dictation’.

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran, including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the US or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who weren’t authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. 

They were given to him by key Cabinet members, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

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

Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said, ‘If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.’ 

The choices range from diplomacy to military strikes, with Trump leaning toward choosing the latter, Axios reported. 

‘Airstrikes would be of the many, many options that are on the table for the commander-in-chief,’ Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday.

‘He told all of you last night that what you’re hearing from the Iranian regime is quite differently from the messages the administration has received privately,’ she added. 

Fires are lit as protesters rally in Tehran. Demonstrations have been ongoing since December, triggered by soaring inflation

There are some members of the Trump administration who are skeptical that the strikes would be productive. 

Meanwhile, with the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a violent crackdown. 

Protesters flooded Tehran’s streets and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media. 

Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, which appeared to number in the tens of thousands, who shouted ‘Death to America!’ and ‘Death to Israel!’

Others cried out, ‘Death to the enemies of God!’ 

Iran’s attorney general has warned that anyone taking part in protests will be considered an ‘enemy of God,’ a death-penalty charge. 

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. 

It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 510 of the dead were protesters and 89 were security force members. 

A crowd gathers during a pro-government rally on Monday

At 2pm Monday, Iranian state television showed images of demonstrators thronging Tehran toward Enghelab Square, or ‘Islamic Revolution’ Square in the capital. 

It had been airing statements all morning from Iranian government, security and religious leaders to attend the demonstration.

It called the rally an ‘Iranian uprising against American-Zionist terrorism,’ without addressing the underlying anger in the country over the nation’s ailing economy. 

State television aired images of such demonstrations around the country, trying to signal it had overcome the protests.