An insurgent underdog no more, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is laying the groundwork to launch a bigger presidential campaign than his first, as advisers predict he would open the 2020 Democratic presidential primary season as a political powerhouse.
A final decision has not been made, but those closest to the 77-year-old self-described democratic socialist suggest that neither age nor interest from a glut of progressive presidential prospects would dissuade him from undertaking a second shot at the presidency. And as Sanders' brain trust gathered for a retreat in Vermont over the weekend, some spoke openly about a 2020 White House bid as if it was almost a foregone conclusion.
"This time, he starts off as a front-runner, or one of the front-runners," Sanders' 2016 campaign manager Jeff Weaver told The Associated Press, highlighting the senator's proven ability to generate massive fundraising through small-dollar donations and his ready-made network of staff and volunteers.
Weaver added: "It'll be a much bigger campaign if he runs again, in terms of the size of the operation."
Amid the enthusiasm — and there was plenty in Burlington as the Sanders Institute convened his celebrity supporters, former campaign staff and progressive policy leaders — there were also signs of cracks in Sanders' political base. His loyalists are sizing up a prospective 2020 Democratic field likely to feature a collection of ambitious liberal leaders — and not the establishment-minded Hillary Clinton.
Instead, a new generation of outspoken Democrats such as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and California Sen. Kamala Harris are expected to seek the Democratic nomination. All three have embraced Sanders' call for "Medicare for All" and a $15 minimum wage, among other policy priorities he helped bring into the Democratic mainstream in the Trump era.
Acknowledging the stark differences between the 2016 and 2020 fields, Hollywood star Danny Glover, who campaigned alongside Sanders in 2016, would not commit to a second Sanders' candidacy when asked this weekend.
"I don't know what 2020 looks like right now," Glover said before taking a front-row seat for Sanders' opening remarks. "I'm going to support who I feel to be the most progressive choice."
One of Sanders' chief supporters from neighboring New Hampshire, former state senate majority leader Burt Cohen, acknowledged that some people worry Sanders is too old for a second run, although that's not a major concern of his. Like Glover, he's not sure if he'll join Sanders a second time.
"There are other people picking up the flag and holding it high, and you know, it could be Bernie, but I think there are other people as well," said Cohen, who did not attend the Vermont summit. "It's not 'Bernie or bust.' That's certainly not the case."
Another high-profile Sanders supporter who was in attendance, Cornel West, described the Vermont senator as "the most consistently progressive one out there," suggesting that some would-be 2020 candidates have adopted Sanders' words, but maintained ties to Wall Street and "militarism."
Still, West conceded that none of likely 2020 candidates "have as much baggage" as Clinton did.
Perhaps the most important member of Sanders' network, wife Jane O'Meara Sanders, said Democrats may be embracing Sanders' "bold progressive ideas" on health care and the economy in some cases, but there's need to go further on issues like climate change, affordable housing and student debt.
Whether her husband will lead the debate as a presidential candidate in 2020, she said, remains unclear. O'Meara Sanders noted that one question above all others would guide their decision: "Who can beat Donald Trump?"
"That has to be the primary goal. To win. We think you win by a very strong progressive commitment," she told AP. When asked if Sanders could win in 2020, she said "every single poll" showed that Sanders would have beaten Republican nominee Donald Trump two years ago.
O'Meara Sanders also downplayed the grueling personal demands of a presidential campaign, something that historically has led some other spouses to pressure their husbands to avoid the white-hot presidential spotlight more than once.
"It was extremely inspiring meeting all the people all over the country," she said of the 2016 campaign. "And what might be difficult for me is not as important as what might be difficult for them and whether or not we can help them with those difficulties."
"It's not about us," O'Meara Sanders added. "It's about what's right for the country."
Despite signs pointing to a 2020 run, Sanders has given himself a clear escape hatch.
Weaver, like Sanders himself in a recent interview, suggested that the senator would step aside if he believes another candidate has a better shot at denying Trump a second term. There are no clear indications from Sanders or those closest to him, however, that he currently has that belief.
"I know they haven't announced, but it sort of seems like that's what's happening," said John Cusack, another actor invited to the weekend summit. Asked about his preference for 2020, he called Sanders "the only real progressive candidate out there."
"All of the sudden, what was once fringe politics is now mainstream. Don't get me wrong, it's great that (Texas congressman) Beto O'Rourke and all these young candidates are running on the People's Summit and progressive movement platform, but let's not forget who broke us through."
"If he runs again, I'll be on board," Cusack said.
This story has been updated to correct the first name of Jeff Weaver, former Sanders campaign manager.
Iran eased some restrictions on its people and, for the first time in days, allowed them to make phone calls abroad via their mobile phones on Tuesday. It did not ease restrictions on the internet or permit texting services to be restored as the death toll from days of bloody protests against the state rose to at least 2,000 people, according to activists.
Although Iranians were able to call abroad, people outside the country could not call them, several people in the capital told The Associated Press.
The witnesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, said SMS text messaging still was down and internet users inside Iran could not access anything abroad, although there were local connections to government-approved websites.
It was unclear if restrictions would ease further after authorities cut off all communications inside the country and to the outside world late Thursday.
Here is the latest:
Iranian and Qatari officials spoke Tuesday during the deadly crackdown in Iran and America’s escalating threats to intervene if protesters are not spared.
Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, spoke by phone with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s prime minister.
In a statement on X, Al Thani said he “reaffirmed the State of Qatar’s backing of all de-escalation efforts, as well as peaceful solutions to enhance security and stability in the region.”
Qatar got caught in the crossfire during Israel’s 12-day war in June when the Islamic Republic retaliated on U.S. airstrikes on its nuclear facility by targeting U.S. forces at Al Udeid Air Base outside of Doha.
Iranian state TV says officials will hold a funeral Wednesday for the “martyrs and security defenders” who have died in the nationwide protests that have intensified in the last week.
The semiofficial Tasnim news agency, believed to be close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, stated that the funeral will take place at Tehran University and will be the first among many state funerals held for security forces in the coming days.
United Nations officials said Tuesday that the more than 500 U.N. staff members in Iran are safe and accounted for as of Monday.
Stephane Dujarric, the U.N. spokesperson, told reporters that many staff were working from home given the unrest that has spread throughout the country and killed hundreds of protesters.
The U.N. country team in Iran has 46 international staff and 448 national staff.
A senior Iranian official responded Tuesday to Trump’s latest threat to intervene in deadly protests, saying that the U.S. and Israel will be the ones responsible for the death of Iranian civilians.
Shortly after Trump’s social media post urging Iranians to “take over” government institutions, Ali Larijani, a former parliament speaker who serves as the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, posted on X: “We declare the names of the main killers of the people of Iran: 1- Trump 2- Netanyahu.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry called on Tuesday the threats “categorically unacceptable.”
The ministry warned in a statement that any such strikes would have “disastrous consequences” for the situation in the Middle East and global security. It also criticized what it called “brazen attempts to blackmail Iran’s foreign partners by raising trade tariffs.”
The statement noted that the protests in Iran had been triggered by social and economic problems resulting from Western sanctions. It also denounced “hostile external forces” for trying to “exploit the resulting growing social tension to destabilize and destroy the Iranian state” and charged that “specially trained and armed provocateurs acting on instructions from abroad” sought to provoke violence.
The ministry voiced hope that the situation in Iran will gradually stabilize and advised Russian citizens in the Islamic Republic not to visit crowded places.
The TV report said the country had ‘a lot of martyrs’ in the nationwide protests and quoted Ahmad Mousavi, the head of the Martyrs Foundation.
The anchor read a statement that laid blame on “armed and terrorist groups, which led the country to present a lot of martyrs to God.”
The acknowledgment came after activists put the death toll at at least 2,003 people killed.
Germany’s Foreign Ministry says it summoned the Iranian ambassador in Berlin on Tuesday to protest the crackdown against demonstrators.
The ministry wrote in a social media post that “the Iranian regime’s brutal action against its own population is shocking.” It called on Iran to end the use of violence against its own people and “respect their rights.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot summoned the Iranian ambassador Tuesday to denounce Iran’s repression of protesters, which Barrot called “intolerable, unbearable, and inhumane.″
Addressing lawmakers at France’s National Assembly, Barrot said that France “condemned the repression in the strongest possible terms, denouncing this state violence that was unleashed blindly upon peaceful protesters.”
“I have conveyed this condemnation to the Iranian foreign minister and it will be reiterated to the Iranian ambassador to France, whom I summoned today to the Foreign Ministry,” he added.
U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced plans for “full and further sanctions” against Iran that target finance, energy, transport and other significant industries after the Foreign Office summoned the Islamic Republic’s ambassador to explain the nation’s response to recent protests.
Cooper told the House of Commons on Tuesday that a “desperate regime,’’ must not be allowed to undermine a “genuine grassroots movement’’ which has spread through many regions and all parts of society.
“And that is why we and other governments across the world are determined not to play into the hands of the regime or to allow our words or actions to be twisted to support their lies and propaganda,’’ she said.
“The world is watching Iran, and the UK will continue to confront the regime’s lies, to call out its repression and to take the steps necessary to protect the UK’s interests.”
The American president said he canceled meetings with Iranian officials, telling protesters, ‘help is on its way,’ without giving details.
Trump did not offer any details about what the help would entail, but it came after he said earlier this week Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after a threat to strike the Islamic Republic.
Trump’s latest message on social media appeared to make an abrupt shift in his willingness to engage with the Iranian government.
“Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!” Trump wrote in on Truth Social. “Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the new sanctions will be imposed on Iranian officials over the crackdown on protestors.
“The rising number of casualties in Iran is horrifying. I unequivocally condemn the excessive use of force and continued restriction of freedom,” von der Leyen said in a post on social media.
She said that in cooperation with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas “further sanctions on those responsible for the repression will be swiftly proposed. We stand with the people of Iran who are bravely marching for their liberty.”
The EU has already imposed sanctions on members of the Revolutionary Guard Corps and others over past concerns about human rights abuses in Iran.
Kaja Kallas said in Berlin Tuesday that the Iranian government might go the way of former President Bashar Assad’s government in Syria, which fell swiftly in late 2024 in a “surprise for everybody.” But she added that “very often these regimes are very, very resilient.”
Kallas said that “right now … it is not clear whether the regime is going to fall or not.” She said it would ultimately have to be up to the Iranian people to make decisions.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years, gave the latest death toll on Tuesday.
It said 1,847 of the dead were protesters and 135 were government-affiliated.
This came a day after the European Parliament announced it would ban Iranian diplomats and representatives.
“Iran does not seek enmity with the EU, but will reciprocate any restriction,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote Tuesday on X.
He also criticized the European Parliament for not taking any significant action against Israel for the more than two-year war in Gaza that has killed more than 71,400 Palestinians, while banning Iranian diplomats after just “a few days of violent riots.”
Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel said he summoned Iran’s ambassador to the Netherlands “to formally protest the excessive violence against peaceful protesters, large-scale arbitrary arrests, and internet shutdowns, calling for immediate restoration of internet access inside the Islamic Republic.
In a post on X, Weel also said the Dutch government supports EU sanctions against “human rights violators in Iran.”
The United Nations human rights chief is calling on Iranian authorities to immediately halt violence and repression against peaceful protesters, citing reports of hundreds killed and thousands arrested in a wave of demonstrations in recent weeks.
“The killing of peaceful demonstrators must stop, and the labelling of protesters as ‘terrorists’ to justify violence against them is unacceptable,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement Tuesday.
Alluding to a wave of protests in Iran in 2022, Türk said demonstrators have sought “fundamental changes” to governance in the country, “and once again, the authorities’ reaction is to inflict brutal force to repress legitimate demands for change.”
“This cycle of horrific violence cannot continue,” he added.
It was also “extremely worrying” to hear some public statements from judicial officials mentioning the prospect of the use of the death penalty against protesters through expedited judicial proceedings, Türk said.
“Iranians have the right to demonstrate peacefully. Their grievances need to be heard and addressed, and not instrumentalized by anyone,” Türk said.
Finland’s foreign minister says she is summoning the Iranian ambassador after authorities in Tehran restricted internet access.
“Iran’s regime has shut down the internet to be able to kill and oppress in silence," Elina Valtonen wrote in a social media post Tuesday, adding, “this will not be tolerated. We stand with the people of Iran — women and men alike.”
Finland is “exploring measures to help restore freedom to the Iranian people” together with the European Union, Valtonen said.
Separately, Finnish police said they believe at least two people entered the courtyard of the Iranian embassy in Helsinki without permission Monday afternoon and tore down the Iranian flag. The embassy’s outer wall was also daubed with paint.
Iranian security forces arrested what a state television report described as “terrorist groups” linked to Israel in the southeastern city of Zahedan.
The report, without providing additional details, said the group entered through Iran’s eastern borders and carried U.S.-made guns and explosives that the group had planned to use in assassinations and acts of sabotage.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the allegations.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate hailed people who have “long warned about this repression, at great personal risk.”
“The protests in Iran cannot be separated from the long-standing, state-imposed restrictions on girls’ and women’s autonomy, in all aspects of public life including education. Iranian girls, like girls everywhere, demand a life with dignity,” Yousafzai wrote on X.
“(Iran’s) future must be driven by the Iranian people, and include the leadership of Iranian women and girls — not external forces or oppressive regimes,” she added.
Yousafzai was awarded the peace prize in 2014 at the age of 17 for her fight for girls’ education in her home country, Pakistan. She is the youngest Nobel laureate.
The French Foreign Ministry said it has “reconfigured” its embassy in Tehran after reports that the facility's nonessential staff left Iran earlier this week.
The embassy's nonessential staff left the country Sunday and Monday, French news agency Agence France-Presse reported.
The ambassador remained on site and the embassy continued to function, the ministry said late Monday night.
Associated Press writer Angela Charlton contributed from Paris.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he believes the Iranian government is in its “final days and weeks,” as he renewed a call for Iranian authorities to end violence against demonstrators immediately.
“If a regime can only keep itself in power by force, then it’s effectively at the end,” Merz said Tuesday during a visit to Bengaluru, India. “I believe we are now seeing the final days and weeks of this regime. In any case, it has no legitimacy through elections in the population. The population is now rising up against this regime.”
Merz said he hoped there is “a possibility to end this conflict peacefully," adding that Germany is in close contact with the U.S. and European governments.
The Israeli military said it continues to be “on alert for surprise scenarios” due to the ongoing protests in Iran, but has not made any changes to guidelines for civilians, as it does prior to a concrete threat.
“The protests in Iran are an internal matter,” Israeli military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin wrote on X.
Israel attacked Iran’s nuclear program over the summer, resulting in a 12-day war that killed nearly 1,200 Iranians and almost 30 Israelis. Over the past week, Iran has threatened to attack Israel if Israel or the U.S. attacks.
Mobile phones in Iran were able to call abroad Tuesday after a crackdown on nationwide protests in which the internet and international calls were cut. Several people in Tehran were able to call The Associated Press.
The AP bureau in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was unable to call those numbers back.
Witnesses said the internet remained cut off from the outside world. Iran cut off the internet and calls on Thursday as protests intensified.
This frame grab from videos taken between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026, and circulating on social media purportedly shows images from a morgue with dozens of bodies and mourners after crackdownon the outskirts of Iran's capital, in Kahrizak, Tehran Province. (UGC via AP)
This frame grab from videos taken between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026, and circulating on social media purportedly shows images from a morgue with dozens of bodies and mourners after crackdown on the outskirts of Iran's capital, in Kahrizak, Tehran Province. (UGC via AP)
This frame grab from videos taken between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026, and circulating on social media purportedly shows images from a morgue with dozens of bodies and mourners after crackdown on the outskirts of Iran's capital, in Kahrizak, Tehran Province. (UGC via AP)
Protesters hold up placards and flags as they demonstrate outside the Iranian Embassy in London, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Shiite Muslims hold placards and chant slogans during a protest against the U.S. and show solidarity with Iran in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Activists carrying a photograph of Reza Pahlavi take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House, in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Protesters burn the Iranian national flag during a rally in support of the nationwide mass demonstrations in Iran against the government in Paris, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
People attend a rally in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP)
A picture of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is set alight by protesters outside the Iranian Embassy in London, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
