The United States are weighing up the possibility of cyber attacks on World Cup nation Iran, according to a new report.
The BBC report that over 540 people have been killed in Iran as part of an escalating government crackdown on protesters nationwide.
The Human Rights Activist News Agency says that 495 protesters are verified to have been killed, along with 48 security personnel.
President Donald Trump has threatened to intervene over the ongoing situation, warning that he would hit Iran 'very, very hard where it hurts' if security forces continued to target demonstrators and protesters.
Advert
A spokesperson for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the state broadcasters that 'diplomatic channels remain open with the US', as per BBC News, and that the nation's leaders have contacted the US to 'negotiate'.
US media outlets are reporting that Trump has been presented with military options to intervene, though officials have warned that it is too early at present to proceed.
A meeting is due to held on Tuesday, with officials said to be preparing options for Trump to target Iran with non-lethal measures.
One of those is said to be the deployment of 'secret cyber weapons against Iranian military and civilian sites'.
According to Reuters, communication and Internet services have been 'blacked out' by the Iranian authorities over the past four days since the government crackdown began, with any cyber attacks, if they occur, potentially able to aid in restoring Internet access.
Trump says that he will discuss the situation with multi-trillionaire Elon Musk, whose SpaceX company uses Starlink technology.
Iran have qualified for the FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted jointly by the United States, Canada and Mexico this summer.
They have been drawn in a group alongside Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand - and could have been drawn against the US.
Standing alongside White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Trump told reporters on Sunday: "There seem to be some people that aren't supposed to be killed.
"These are violent - if you call them leaders, I don't know if they're leaders. They rule through violence.
"But we're looking at it very seriously. The military's looking at. We're looking at some very strong options. We'll make a determination.
"We may get the Internet going if that's possible. We may speak to Elon, because as you know he's very good at that kind of thing. He's got a very good company.
"So we may speak to Elon Musk. In fact, I'm going to call him as soon as I'm finished with you."
Topics: Donald Trump, United States, FIFA World Cup
Ryan Smart