Possible next steps for US include military strikes, sanctions and cyber attacks – key US politics stories from 11 January
Donald Trump is weighing up his options for responding to protests in Iran, including “very strong” military action, as deaths mount in a crackdown on demonstrations against the regime in Tehran.
Possible actions for the US include military strikes, deploying secretive cyber weapons against Iranian military and civilian sites, placing more sanctions on Iran’s government and boosting anti-government sources online, sources say.
But military strikes will be fraught with difficulties, and could fuel the fire of an Iranian government narrative that the protests are being manipulated by the US and Israel. Tehran’s population density means it is hard to mount a targeted campaign from the air without risking many civilian casualties; and key potential US targets – such as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – have upped their personal security precautions.
Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to intervene, posted on social media on Saturday: “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!
Donald Trump has claimed Iran has reached out and proposed negotiations, as he considers “very strong” military action against the regime over a deadly crackdown on protesters that has reportedly killed hundreds.
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Iran warned the US not to attack over protests that have rocked the country, as Trump weighed all options for a response from Washington.
More than 500 people have now been killed in the violence surrounding demonstrations, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, including 490 protesters. The group reported that more than 10,600 people were arrested by Iranian authorities. The regime has not supplied its own figures and it was not possible to independently verify them.
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The Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve, a significant escalation in Donald Trump’s extraordinary attack on the US central bank.
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The head of US homeland security, Kristi Noem, pledged on Sunday to send “hundreds more” federal agents to Minneapolis amid large protests across the US this weekend, where thousands of people expressed their outrage over the fatal shooting of a woman by an ICE officer.
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The Minneapolis mayor has called for the federal government to allow his state to become involved in the investigation of an ICE officer’s fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, accusing the Trump administration of being “so quick to jump on a narrative as opposed to the truth”.
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Donald Trump has told Cuba to “make a deal” or face unspecified consequences, adding that no more Venezuelan oil or money would flow to the communist-run Caribbean island that has been a US foe for decades.
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The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, has said Denmark is at a “fateful moment” amid Donald Trump’s threats to take over Greenland, accusing the US of potentially turning its back on Nato.
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Donald Trump has said he might block ExxonMobil from investing in Venezuela after the oil company’s chief executive called the country “uninvestable” during a White House meeting last week.
“I didn’t like Exxon’s response,” Trump said on Sunday. “I’ll probably be inclined to keep Exxon out … They’re playing too cute.”
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The biggest surprise of Donald Trump’s first year back in office is how quickly America’s institutions capitulated to “the bully”, said Michael Steele, a former chair of the Republican National Committee turned arch critic.
But with the midterm elections looming, Steele predicts a resounding Democratic victory amid a hunger among voters to hold the president and his allies accountable.
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The organisers of the Nobel peace prize have said it “cannot be revoked, shared or transferred” after Venezuela’s opposition leader, María Corina Machado, said she wanted to give her award to Donald Trump.
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The National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC has removed a placard that referred to Donald Trump’s two impeachments and his supporters’ January 6 attack on the US Capitol, according to multiple news reports.
The German government has sharply rejected claims by the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, that doctors in Germany have faced legal action for issuing vaccine and mask exemptions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Content creators and influencers in the US are now increasingly dominating requests for O-1 work visas. Astoundingly, the number of O-1 visas granted each year increased by 50% between 2014 and 2024.
Catching up? Here’s what happened 10 January 2026.