Napoli takes control of Serie A without unsettled star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

MILAN (AP) — Without injured and unsettled star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Napoli still took control of Serie A on Sunday.

Napoli coach Antonio Conte confirmed the previous day that Kvaratskhelia — nicknamed “Kvaradona” by the fans in homage to Diego Maradona — had asked to leave the club, with Paris Saint-Germain the likely destination.

His current teammates did not let themselves be affected by the controversy as they beat lowly Hellas Verona 2-0 to move four points clear of Inter Milan after the defending champion moved into second place earlier with a 1-0 win at Venezia.

Atalanta was third after it was held 0-0 at Udinese on Saturday. Inter has played two fewer matches than Napoli and one less than Atalanta.

Kvaratskhelia was out of Sunday’s match in Naples through injury anyway, saving Conte from perhaps a difficult choice.

Verona had beaten Napoli 3-0 in Conte's first league match in charge.

But there was no such danger this time as Napoli took the lead in the fifth minute. Giovanni Di Lorenzo played a one-two with Romelu Lukaku and then curled in a shot that hit the left post and went in off the back of Lorenzo Montipò, going down as an own-goal from the Verona goalkeeper.

Frank Anguissa should have doubled Napoli’s lead seconds later but he blazed over the bar from seven yards, falling to his feet and clutching his face after the miss.

He made up for it in the 61st minute with a spectacular goal as he cut inside from the right, played a one-two with Lukaku and then drove the ball powerfully into the near side of the net from outside the area.

Inter Milan bounced back from a demoralizing Italian Super Cup loss but it was harder than might have been expected at relegation-threatened Venezia.

Inter lost the Italian Super Cup final to city rival AC Milan in Saudi Arabia on Monday after throwing away a 2-0 lead.

It was also facing an injury crisis Sunday as several key players either could not make the trip to Venice or were only fit for a place on the bench.

Inter took the lead in the 16th minute when Lautaro Martínez showed fantastic control on a long ball over the top. His volley was parried by Filip Stankovic but Matteo Darmian turned in the rebound

Stankovic, who is the son of Inter hero Dejan and also on loan from the Nerazzurri, pulled off a number of fine saves against his parent club.

Venezia almost leveled in the 74th but United States international Gianluca Busio curled a fine attempt off the base of the far post.

Inter held on for its sixth straight away victory without conceding a goal.

Venezia remained 19th in the 20-team standings, five points from safety.

New Genoa owner Dan Sucu was in the stands to see the team beat Parma 1-0 in a relegation fight, for its first league home win of the season.

It needed a huge slice of luck as Morten Frendrup’s strike took a huge deflection off Parma defender Enrico Delprato to give Genoa the lead in the 65th minute.

Genoa moved four points above Parma and five away from the relegation zone.

Roma forward Artem Dovbyk converted a penalty with the last kick of the match, in the eighth minute of stoppage time, to snatch a 2-2 draw at Bologna.

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Roma's Artem Dovbyk scores his side's second goal during a Serie A soccer match between Bologna FC and AS Roma at Renato Dall'Ara Stadium, Bologna, Italy, Sunday, January 12, 2025. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Roma's Artem Dovbyk celebrates with teammate Tommaso Baldanzi after scoring his side's second goal during a Serie A soccer match between Bologna FC and AS Roma at Renato Dall'Ara Stadium, Bologna, Italy, Sunday, January 12, 2025. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa reacts during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Venezia at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (Alessandro Garofalo//LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa kicks the ball, during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Venezia at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, right, celebrates after scoring his team's second goal, with Napoli's Giovanni Di Lorenzo, during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Verona at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 12 , 2025. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Parma's Zion Suzuki saves a ball, during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Genoa and Parma at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 12, 2025. (Tano Pecoraro/LaPresse via AP)

Genoa's Morten Frendrup and Mattia Bani vie for the ball with Parma's Mandela Keita, center, during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Genoa and Parma at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 12, 2025. (Tano Pecoraro/LaPresse via AP)

Venezia's Joel Pohjanpalo and Inter Milan's Alessandro Bastoni vie for the ball, during the Serie A soccer match between Venezia and Inter at the Pier Luigi Penzo Stadium, in Venice, Italy, Sunday Jan. 12, 2025. (Paola Garbuio/LaPresse via AP)

Inter Milan's Mehdi Taremi, right, and Venezia's Hans Nicolussi Caviglia in action during the Serie A soccer match between Venezia and Inter at the Pier Luigi Penzo Stadium, Venice, Italy, Sunday Jan. 12, 2025. (Paola Garbuio/LaPresse via AP)

Venezia's Hans Nicolussi Caviglia and Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez, right, in action during the Serie A soccer match between Venezia and Inter at the Pier Luigi Penzo Stadium, Venice, Italy, Sunday Jan. 12, 2025. (Paola Garbuio/LaPresse via AP)

Inter Milan's Matteo Darmian celebrates scoring during the Serie A soccer match between Venezia and Inter at the Pier Luigi Penzo Stadium, Venice, Italy, Sunday Jan. 12, 2025. (Paola Garbuio/LaPresse via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)