This is a photo collection curated by AP photo editors.
Photographers take pictures of a cardinal as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Peter Ebere Okpaleke is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Argentine Cardinal Ángel Sixto Rossi speaks to reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Jorge Enrique Jiménez Carvajal is surrounded by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão, Archbishop of Goa and Damão, arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Vicente Bokalic Iglic, from Argentina, is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Colombian cardinals Luis José Rueda Aparicio, left, and Rubén Salazar Gómez arrive for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
British Cardinal Vincent Nichols is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Argentine Cardinal Ángel Sixto Rossi arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
St Peter's Basilica is seen in the background as a cardinal arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller stands in a gateway on his way to a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera exits the college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Cardinal Aquilino Bocos, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Thursday April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Cardinal Aquilino Bocos walks in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Thursday April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Cardinal Aquilino Bocos, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Thursday April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle leads a rosary prayer outside the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, where the late Pope Francis will be buried, in Rome, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco reacts to a reporter's question as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Security and police make way for Cardinal Sean O'Malley arriving for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Francesco Montenegro walks at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Cardinal François-Xavier Bustillo arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, center, is approached by a reporter as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas meets the media in front of St. Mary Major Basilica, in Rome, Friday April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas arrives to the St. Mary Major Basilica, in Rome, Friday April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Cardinal George Jakob Koovakad, second from right, arrives for the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Cardinal Soane Patita Parvini Mafi, Bishop of Tonga, arrives for funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, of Nigeria, poses for photos with a group after the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, of Nigeria, greets people in St. Peter's Square after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, of Nigeria, poses for photos with a group from Venezuela after the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi arrives for the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, of Nigeria, speaks to people after the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
Cardinal Reinhardt Marx speaks during a press conference at the German Dioceses Union headquarters in Rome, hours after the solemn funerals for late Pope Francis at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, center, presides a mass on the second of nine days of mourning for late Pope Francis, in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinals, including Chibly Langlois, center left, and Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, center right, arrive for a mass presided by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on the second of nine days of mourning for late Pope Francis, in St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Jose Cobo Cano walks in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican at the end of a mass on the second of nine days of mourning for late Pope Francis presided over by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Cardinal Sean O' Malley arrives at St. Mary Major Basilica for a Vesper service, in Rome, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A journalist scans with his smartphone Cardinal Fernando Filoni outside St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn poses for selfie photos with people outside St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Anthony Poola, from India, arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
British Cardinal Vincent Nichols is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Pedro Barreto arrives for the college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal François-Xavier Bustillo arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, right, reacts to a reporter's question as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Fernando Filoni arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Seán Patrick O'Malley arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez is approached by a reporter as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Sean Brady is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Wilfrid Napier is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, left, is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Fernando Filoni is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Jorge Enrique Jiménez Carvajal is approached by a reporter as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal José Cobo Cano is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, followed by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, arrive for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, left, and Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu arrive for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Baldassare Reina, center, leads a prayer for Pope Francis, at the St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome, Thursday April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
South -Sudanese Cardinal Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla poses in hi residence in Juba, South Sudan, Wednesday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Florence Miettaux)
Cardinal Francesco Montenegro arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Fernando Filoni is approached by reporters as he leaves the college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Cardinal Aquilino Bocos walks in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Thursday April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera is approached by a reporter as he exits the college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Cardinal Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib, left, and Cardinal Sean O'Malley, arrive for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi boards a vehicle at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi smiles before boarding a vehicle at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
Cardinal Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib speaks to the media in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, center, arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib speaks to the media in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schrieber)
Cardinal Mario Grech arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schrieber)
Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller is approached by a reporter as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schrieber)
Cardinal Francesco Montenegro arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, center, arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Sean O'Malley, center, waits for another cardinal as they arrive for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib, left, and Cardinal Sean O'Malley, arrive for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinals arrive for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
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Cardinals, including Chibly Langlois, center left, and Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, center right, arrive for a mass presided by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on the second of nine days of mourning for late Pope Francis, in St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Photographers take pictures of a cardinal as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Peter Ebere Okpaleke is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Argentine Cardinal Ángel Sixto Rossi speaks to reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Jorge Enrique Jiménez Carvajal is surrounded by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão, Archbishop of Goa and Damão, arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Vicente Bokalic Iglic, from Argentina, is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Colombian cardinals Luis José Rueda Aparicio, left, and Rubén Salazar Gómez arrive for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
British Cardinal Vincent Nichols is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Argentine Cardinal Ángel Sixto Rossi arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
St Peter's Basilica is seen in the background as a cardinal arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller stands in a gateway on his way to a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera exits the college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Cardinal Aquilino Bocos, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Thursday April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Cardinal Aquilino Bocos walks in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Thursday April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Cardinal Aquilino Bocos, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Thursday April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle leads a rosary prayer outside the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, where the late Pope Francis will be buried, in Rome, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco reacts to a reporter's question as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Security and police make way for Cardinal Sean O'Malley arriving for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Francesco Montenegro walks at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Cardinal François-Xavier Bustillo arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, center, is approached by a reporter as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas meets the media in front of St. Mary Major Basilica, in Rome, Friday April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas arrives to the St. Mary Major Basilica, in Rome, Friday April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Cardinal George Jakob Koovakad, second from right, arrives for the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Cardinal Soane Patita Parvini Mafi, Bishop of Tonga, arrives for funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, of Nigeria, poses for photos with a group after the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, of Nigeria, greets people in St. Peter's Square after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, of Nigeria, poses for photos with a group from Venezuela after the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi arrives for the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, of Nigeria, speaks to people after the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
Cardinal Reinhardt Marx speaks during a press conference at the German Dioceses Union headquarters in Rome, hours after the solemn funerals for late Pope Francis at the Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, center, presides a mass on the second of nine days of mourning for late Pope Francis, in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinals, including Chibly Langlois, center left, and Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, center right, arrive for a mass presided by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on the second of nine days of mourning for late Pope Francis, in St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Jose Cobo Cano walks in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican at the end of a mass on the second of nine days of mourning for late Pope Francis presided over by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Cardinal Sean O' Malley arrives at St. Mary Major Basilica for a Vesper service, in Rome, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A journalist scans with his smartphone Cardinal Fernando Filoni outside St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn poses for selfie photos with people outside St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Anthony Poola, from India, arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
British Cardinal Vincent Nichols is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Pedro Barreto arrives for the college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal François-Xavier Bustillo arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, right, reacts to a reporter's question as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Fernando Filoni arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Seán Patrick O'Malley arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez is approached by a reporter as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Sean Brady is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Wilfrid Napier is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, left, is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Fernando Filoni is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Jorge Enrique Jiménez Carvajal is approached by a reporter as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal José Cobo Cano is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, followed by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, arrive for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, left, and Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu arrive for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Cardinal Baldassare Reina, center, leads a prayer for Pope Francis, at the St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome, Thursday April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
South -Sudanese Cardinal Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla poses in hi residence in Juba, South Sudan, Wednesday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Florence Miettaux)
Cardinal Francesco Montenegro arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Fernando Filoni is approached by reporters as he leaves the college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Cardinal Aquilino Bocos walks in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Thursday April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera is approached by a reporter as he exits the college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Cardinal Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib, left, and Cardinal Sean O'Malley, arrive for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi boards a vehicle at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi smiles before boarding a vehicle at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
Cardinal Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib speaks to the media in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, center, arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib speaks to the media in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schrieber)
Cardinal Mario Grech arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schrieber)
Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller is approached by a reporter as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schrieber)
Cardinal Francesco Montenegro arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, center, arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Sean O'Malley, center, waits for another cardinal as they arrive for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib, left, and Cardinal Sean O'Malley, arrive for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Cardinals arrive for a college of cardinals' meeting at the Vatican, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
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)