Tehran said on Monday it was keeping communication channels with Washington open as President Donald Trump considered how to respond to Iran's deadly crackdown on nationwide protests, one of the gravest tests of clerical rule since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

Trump said on Sunday the U.S. may meet Iranian officials and he was in contact with Iran's opposition, while piling pressure on its leaders, including threatening military action over lethal violence against protesters.

While airstrikes were one of many ​alternatives open to Trump, "diplomacy is always the first option for the president," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday.

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