President Donald Trump is set to be briefed by top aides this week as he plots out the level of his response to the Iranian regime's brutal crackdown against citizen-led protests. 

Trump's top military and diplomatic staffers, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine, are anticipated to be present at the meeting, per the Wall Street Journal.

The meeting comes as Trump is understood to be considering further US involvement in the region, but no final decisions are expected to emerge until after Tuesday's scheduled meeting.  Putting U.S. troops' boots on the ground is also not on the table, per CNN. 

Protests within Iran have escalated since the New Year, and the regime, led by Ayatollah Khamenei, has sought to limit its citizens' access to the West by cutting off internet connection as well as telephone lines.

Protestors have, however, still been able to get information out of the country through the use of Elon Musk's Starlink satellite technology.

Trump has intensified his public statements since the protests began, warning Iranian authorities against using force and repeatedly expressing support for what he has described as a push for freedom. 

'Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before,' the president noted in a post to his Truth Social account, adding that 'the USA stands ready to help!!!'

The State Department has echoed a hardline tone, pointing to previous US actions against adversarial governments as evidence that Trump follows through on his warnings. 

'Do not play games with President Trump. When he says he'll do something, he means it,' a recent social media post from the State Department read.

President Donald Trump talks about the White House ballroom construction as he arrives to speak during a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington

Flames rise from burning debris in the middle of a street in Gorgan, Golestan Province, Iran, on January 10, 2026, as protesters set fire to makeshift barricades near a religious center during ongoing anti-regime demonstrations

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khameni waves during a gathering of the people of Qom in Tehran on January 9, 2026

Back in June, Trump directed the US military to deploy a dozen 30,000-pound 'bunker buster' bombs that 'obliterated' Iran's three largest nuclear facilities.