Pakistan, Jan. 29 -- Iran on Wednesday rejected holding negotiations with the United States if it makes threats against the Islamic republic, after President Donald Trump refused to rule out military intervention over its deadly crackdown on protests.

With a US naval strike group led by an aircraft carrier lurking in Middle East waters, top Iranian officials also reached out to key Arab states in behind-the-scenes diplomacy to rally support.

A rights group said that it has verified over 6,200 deaths, mostly of protesters killed by security forces, in the wave of demonstrations that rocked the clerical leadership since late December but peaked on January 8-9.

Activists say that the actual toll could be many times higher with an internet...