President Donald Trump has received briefings on a variety of covert and military strategies for potential use in Iran, as reported by two Department of Defense officials to the BBC’s US affiliate, CBS News.

Long-range missile attacks remain a viable option for possible US action, but Pentagon representatives have also outlined cyber tactics and psychological operations as alternatives, according to the sources.

On Monday, Trump declared a 25% tariff on imports from nations that engage commercially with Iran, while human rights organizations state that over 600 demonstrators have lost their lives during three weeks of anti-government unrest.

Iran’s foreign minister stated that Tehran is willing to engage in discussions with Washington but is also “ready for conflict”.

Trump’s national security team is slated to convene at the White House on Tuesday to explore options regarding Iran, the sources mentioned, though it remains uncertain whether the president will attend the meeting.

The US president previously indicated that his military was contemplating “very strong measures” to intervene should more protesters be harmed. Trump noted that Iranian officials had reached out for negotiations but mentioned that the US “might need to act before any meeting occurs”.

Discontent over the devaluation of the Iranian currency and poor economic management has escalated into a legitimacy crisis for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

On Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reported that an Iranian representative also reached out to Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, stating that Tehran’s public position is “quite [different] from the messages the administration is receiving privately”.

Nevertheless, she cautioned that the US president is “not hesitant to utilize military options whenever he deems it necessary”.

The two anonymous sources that discussed national security with CBS indicated that any potential US military action in Iran would likely involve air strikes, but planners are also evaluating strategies to disrupt Iranian command and communication networks.

The US has advised its citizens in Iran to evacuate or devise a departure plan that does not rely on assistance from the US government.

Khamenei accused the US of “deception” and depending on “treacherous mercenaries”, while commending pro-government rallies organized by the state in Iran on Monday.

He asserted that the “Iranian nation is a strong one, is aware of its enemies, and is present in every situation”.

State media reported large gatherings in multiple cities following appeals for pro-government protests. BBC Persian has documented text messages urging individuals within the country to participate in these demonstrations while also cautioning them against joining anti-government protests.

Separately on Monday, Trump declared via his Truth Social platform that he would implement a 25% tariff on products from nations that are “doing business” with Tehran, without providing further detail.

“This order is definitive and final,” he added.

Iran, already facing significant US sanctions, is contending with a deteriorating currency and inflation that has caused food prices to soar by as much as 70%. Food constitutes approximately one-third of Iran’s imports, and additional restrictions imposed by the tariffs may exacerbate shortages and elevate costs.

The White House did not provide further information regarding the tariffs. China remains Iran’s largest trading partner, followed by Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and India.

This initiative may intensify pressure on Tehran as the Iranian government amplifies its crackdown on anti-government protests.

Meanwhile, Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last shah of Iran now living in exile in the US, has urged Trump to take action “soon” to reduce the number of fatalities among demonstrators.

In a CBS News interview, Pahlavi stated that the current Iranian administration is “attempting to deceive the world into believing that (it) is again ready to negotiate”.

He characterized Trump as “a man who means what he says and says what he means” and who “understands the stakes”.

“I believe the president has a decision to make quite soon,” Pahlavi remarked.

At least 648 demonstrators in Iran have died, including nine individuals under 18, according to the Norway-based human rights organization Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO). Sources within Iran have informed the BBC that the actual death toll may be significantly higher.

The BBC and most other international news outlets are unable to report directly from Iran. An internet blackout initiated on Thursday evening has hindered efforts to gather and authenticate information.

Flames dance around the edges of Omar’s passport. “It’s igniting well,” a voice belonging to an unseen woman states in Russian within the footage.

Omar, a 26-year-old Syrian who works in construction, had been stationed for almost nine months on the front lines of Russia’s conflict in Ukraine when the video was sent to his phone.

He recognized the woman’s voice. It belonged to Polina Alexandrovna Azarnykh, who he claims had assisted him in enlisting to fight for Russia, offering high-paying work and Russian nationality. But now she was furious.

In a series of voice messages from Ukraine, Omar, using a pseudonym to protect himself, recounts how he found himself trapped and fearful in the combat zone.

He mentions that Azarnykh had guaranteed that if he gave her $3,000 (£2,227), she would ensure he remained in a non-combat position. However, he claims he was thrust into battle after only 10 days of training, leading him to refuse payment, prompting her to burn his passport in response.

He alleges he attempted to opt out of a mission, but his commanders threatened him with death or incarceration.

“We were deceived… this woman is a fraudster and a deceiver,” Omar states.

A BBC Eye investigation has traced how Azarnykh, a 40-year-old ex-teacher, utilizes a Telegram channel to entice young men, frequently from impoverished backgrounds, into enlisting in Russia’s military.

The ex-educator’s cheerful video messages and bright posts present “one-year agreements” for “military service”.

The BBC World Service has identified close to 500 occasions where she has issued documents, termed invitations, enabling the recipients to enter Russia to join the military. These have been for men – primarily from Syria, Egypt, and Yemen – who seemingly provided her with their passport information to enlist.

However, recruits and their families have conveyed to the BBC that she misled men into thinking they would evade combat, did not clarify the inability to leave after a year, and threatened those who questioned her. Upon being approached by the BBC, she dismissed the allegations.

Twelve families revealed to us about young men they claim were enlisted by her who are now deceased or unaccounted for.

Domestically, Russia has intensified conscription, hired prisoners, and introduced progressively more attractive sign-up bonuses to sustain its military efforts in Ukraine, despite significant casualties.

Over one million of its troops have been killed or wounded since the full-scale invasion began in 2022, with 25,000 fatalities reported in December 2025 alone, as per NATO.

Research conducted by BBC News Russian, utilizing obituaries and other publicly accessible death records, suggests Russian troop casualties in Ukraine surged more rapidly last year.

Determining the number of foreigners who have joined Russia’s military is challenging. Analysis by BBC Russian – which also examined the number of foreigners killed and injured – indicates at least 20,000 individuals might have enlisted, including from nations like Cuba, Nepal, and North Korea.

Ukraine has also experienced considerable troop losses and has integrated foreign fighters into its forces.

Omar’s initial encounter with Azarnykh occurred when he was stranded with hardly any funds at a Moscow airport in March 2024, accompanied by 14 other Syrians.

Employment in Syria was scarce and poorly compensated. Omar states a recruiter there had proposed civilian work guarding oil plants in Russia. They travelled to Moscow, only to find they had been duped.

While searching online for alternatives, Omar mentions one of the group discovered Azarnykh’s channel and contacted her.

She met them at the airport within hours and took them by train to a recruitment center in Bryansk, western Russia, he recounts.

There, he claims, she offered them one-year contracts with the Russian army, with a monthly salary approximating $2,500 (£1,856), and a sign-up payment of $5,000 (£3,711) – amounts they could only fantasize about in Syria.

Omar asserts that the contracts were in Russian, a language none of the men understood, and she confiscated their passports, assuring them she would facilitate Russian citizenship. She also indicated they could steer clear of combat roles if they each paid her $3,000 (£2,227) from their sign-up fees, he states.

However, he claims that within a month, he found himself on the front lines with only 10 days of training and no prior military experience.

“We’re definitely going to die here,” he expresses in one of his voice messages, sent to a BBC investigative team.

“Many injuries, numerous explosions, a lot of shelling. If you don’t perish from the blast, you’ll be killed by the debris falling on you,” he informs in May 2024.

“Corpses everywhere… I’ve walked on dead bodies, forgive me, God,” he says the following month.

“When someone dies, I’ve witnessed it firsthand, they place them in a garbage bag and dispose of them beside a tree,” he remarks.

After nearly a year, he uncovered what he states Azarnykh had omitted to explain – a decree from 2022 permits the military to automatically extend soldiers’ contracts until the war concludes.

“If they renew the contract, I’m doomed – oh God,” he laments.

His contract was indeed extended.

Azarnykh’s Telegram channel boasts 21,000 subscribers. Her posts have frequently instructed readers wishing to apply to join the Russian military to send her a scan of their passport. She subsequently dispatched invitation documents, sometimes including a list of names of the individuals they were meant for.

The BBC has pinpointed over 490 such invitations that she has dispatched over the last year to men from countries including Yemen, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Iraq, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria.

Her communications have referenced recruitment for an “elite international battalion” and clarified that individuals in Russia illegally – including those with expired visas – can apply.

Outside the UK, watch the film on YouTube.

We have interviewed eight foreign fighters including Omar who were enlisted by her, as well as the families of the 12 men who are dead or missing.

Many felt Azarnykh had deceived or exploited the recruits. They informed us that the men understood they were joining the military, but did not anticipate serving on the front line. Several, including Omar, felt they had insufficient training or believed they would be able to depart after a year.

In Egypt, Yousef – whose name we have also altered – informed the BBC that his older brother Mohammed had commenced a university program in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2022.

However, he struggled to cover his tuition, Yousef claims, and reported to his family that a Russian woman named Polina had started offering him assistance online, including employment with the Russian military that he believed would allow him to continue his studies.

“She assured him of housing and citizenship… monthly expenses,” he states. “Suddenly he was dispatched to Ukraine. He found himself in combat,” Yousef says.

His final communication was on 24 January 2024, according to Yousef. About a year later, he received a message on Telegram from a Russian number, containing photos of Mohammed’s remains. The family ultimately learned he had been killed nearly a year earlier.

Azarnykh has become “one of the most significant recruiters” for Russia’s military, states Habib, another Syrian who has served in the Russian armed forces. He agreed to be filmed but spoke under a pseudonym due to fear of repercussions.

Habib asserts he and Azarnykh “collaborated for approximately three years on visa invitations to Russia.” He provided no additional details, and we have not been able to verify his involvement in the process. An image from social media in 2024 shows him alongside her.

Azarnykh, originally from Russia’s southwestern Voronezh region, managed a Facebook group that aided Arab students in coming to Moscow for studies before launching her Telegram channel in 2024.

Habib explains that most foreign recruits arrived with the expectation of roles securing facilities or monitoring checkpoints. “The Arabs who come are dying quickly. Some individuals lost their sanity – witnessing dead bodies is tough,” he states.

Habib mentions he met Omar and the group of Syrians at a military training facility. “She had promised them nationality, good pay, and safety,” Habib recounts. “But once you sign a contract here, leaving is impossible.”

“None of them knew how to handle a weapon. Even when under fire, they chose not to return fire… if you don’t shoot, you will be killed,” he adds. “Polina took the men, aware they were likely to die.”

He claims she “received $300 (£223) from the military for every individual she recruited”. The BBC could not verify this, though other recruits also indicated they believed she was compensated.

Azarnykh’s posts from mid-2024 began to indicate that recruits would be “involved in hostilities” and referenced foreign fighters who had perished in combat.

“You all understood well that you were heading to war,” she states in one video from October 2024. “You thought you could secure a Russian passport, do nothing, and enjoy a five-star hotel?… Nothing is ever free.”

In another instance in 2024, the BBC received a voice message from Azarnykh directed to a mother whose son was serving in the military. Azarnykh warns that the woman has “published something terrible about the Russian army”. Using vulgar language, she threatens the son’s life and cautions the woman: “I’ll track you down along with all your children.”

The BBC made several attempts to reach out to Azarnykh. Initially, she suggested she would agree to an interview if we traveled to Russia, a proposal the BBC declined for safety reasons. Later, when questioned during a voice call regarding claims that recruits were promised non-combat roles, she hung up. In subsequent voice messages, she criticized our efforts as “unprofessional” and warned of potential legal action for defamation. She further stated: “Our esteemed Arabs can shove their accusations where the sun doesn’t shine.”

The BBC reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence for comments but received no reply.

Previously, in March 2022, President Putin supported the recruitment of individuals from the Middle East, asserting they were motivated ideologically rather than financially: “There are individuals eager to volunteer, especially not for monetary reasons, and assist others.”

Journalists and researchers investigating this matter indicate that individuals like Azarnykh are part of an intricate network of informal recruiters.

The BBC has discovered two other Arabic Telegram accounts making comparable offers for enlistment in Russia’s military. One features posts displaying invitation documents and names, while the other promotes substantial sign-up bonuses for joining an “elite battalion”.

In September, Kenyan authorities reported they had dismantled an alleged “trafficking syndicate” accused of enticing Kenyans with job proposals but actually sending them to combat in Ukraine.

Kateryna Stepanenko, a research fellow at the Institute for the Study of War, informed the BBC that some municipal and regional officials in Russia have been providing cash incentives up to $4,000 (£2,970) to individuals such as HR specialists and local citizens who recruit Russians or foreigners into military service.

She explains that initially, the Kremlin relied on larger entities like the Wagner private military group and the prison system for recruitment, but since 2024 has also been “utilizing locals and smaller companies”.

This “indicates to me that prior recruitment methods are no longer generating the same volume of recruits,” she adds.

Meanwhile, Habib has returned to Syria after claiming he bribed multiple commanders to terminate his engagement. Omar ultimately acquired Russian citizenship and has also managed to get back to Syria. Two of the Syrians he served alongside have died, as per their families.

Azarnykh “views us as mere numbers or revenue – she doesn’t see us as human beings,” he states. “We won’t forgive her for what she did to us.”

Additional reporting by Olga Ivshina, Gehad Abbas, Ali Ibrahim, Victoria Arakelyan, and Rayan Maarouf