Iran's foreign minister and Trump's envoy discussed protests, sources say

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reached out to White House envoy Steve Witkoff over the weekend amid President Trump's threats of military force against the regime in support of the recent protests, according to two sources with knowledge. Why it matters: The sources said the outreach seemed to be an effort by Iran to deescalate with the U.S., or at least buy more time before Trump orders any action to further weaken the regime.It's the first indication that the direct channel of communication between Washington and Tehran is still open, despite the stalemate in nuclear negotiations and the exchanges of threats between the two countries. According to a source with knowledge, Araghchi and Witkoff have discussed potentially holding a meeting in the coming days. The sources did not confirm whether they spoke by phone or by text. The White House and State Department declined to comment.Driving the news: Trump said Sunday that Iran reached out to the U.S. a day earlier and proposed to negotiate a nuclear deal."We may meet with them. A meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what's happening, before the meeting. … but a meeting is being set up," he told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday.Vice President JD Vance told reporters last week the U.S. is open to negotiations with Iran on a new deal. "The smartest thing for them to have done, it was true two months ago, it is true today, is for them to actually have a real negotiation with the United States about what we need to see when it comes to their nuclear program."Behind the scenes: Witkoff and Araghchi started exchanging text messages during the nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran last year, U.S. officials said. They continued to communicate even after the U.S. bombed Iran's nuclear facilities in June, and were still in touch about potential nuclear negotiations as recently as last October, according to a U.S. official and two sources with knowledgeUpdate: Araghchi confirmed to al-Jazeera on Monday that he has communicated with Witkoff and that a possible meeting is under discussion. "There are proposed ideas that are being examined," Araghchi said, but he stressed Iran won't negotiate under military threats. Araghchi said that if the U.S. wants to try and use military force against Iran again, Iran is prepared. "We have a higher level of military readiness, compared to what we had during the last war. There are those who are trying to drag Washington into a war in order to advance Israel's interests," he said.State of play: Trump is expected to hold a meeting with his national security team on Tuesday to discuss options for supporting the protests and weakening the Iranian regime.Trump told reported on Sunday he is looking at "very strong options" when it comes to supporting the protest movement in Iran."We are looking at it very seriously," Trump said. "The military is looking at it. We are looking at very strong options. We will make a determination."What they're saying: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday that airstrikes "would be one of the many options that are on the table" for Trump.Leavitt stressed that while Trump is not afraid to use force, diplomacy is always the first option for him. "What you're hearing publicly from the Iranian regime is quite differently from the messages the administration is receiving privately, and I think the President has an interest in exploring those messages," she said.