Iran's president on Tuesday warned US "threats" against the Islamic republic would only cause instability, as a US naval strike group led by an aircraft carrier took up position in Middle Eastern waters.

Washington has not ruled out military intervention against Tehran over its crackdown on protests -- which rights groups say left thousands of people dead -- and President Donald Trump has dispatched the USS Abraham Lincoln to the area "just in case".

CAIRO, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Hamas is seeking to incorporate its 10,000 police officers into a new U.S.-backed Palestinian administration for Gaza, sources say, a demand likely to be opposed by Israel as the militant group debates whether to surrender its arms.

Islamist group Hamas retains control of just under half of Gaza following an October ceasefire deal brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump. The agreement ties further Israeli troop withdrawals to Hamas giving up its weapons.

At the start of "American Doctor," a new documentary about US medics working in hospitals in the Gaza Strip during the Israel-Hamas war, director Poh Si Teng initially declines to film pictures of dead Palestinian children that one of the doctors is trying to show her.

Teng worries that she will have to pixelate the gruesome scene to protect the dignity of the children.

By Alexander Cornwell and Nidal al-Mughrabi

TEL AVIV/CAIRO, Jan 27 (Reuters) - A clock in a Tel Aviv square that became a rallying point for Israelis demanding the release of hostages taken during the October 2023 Hamas attack will be turned off on Tuesday, 844 days after it began counting their captivity.

A US-based rights group said Tuesday it had confirmed the deaths of over 6,000 people in protests in Iran suppressed by security forces, adding it was investigating over 17,000 more potential deaths and warning a wave of arrests was ongoing.

The protests started in late December sparked by economic grievances but turned into a mass movement against the Islamic republic, with huge street rallies on January 8 and 9 that were the biggest in recent years.

Jan 27 (Reuters) - Israel is preparing for talks with the Trump administration on a new 10-year security deal, seeking to extend U.S. military support even as Israeli leaders signal they are planning for a future with reduced American cash grants, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

Gil Pinchas, speaking to the FT before stepping down as chief financial adviser to Israel's military and defence ministry, said Israel would seek to prioritise joint military and defence projects over cash handouts in talks that he expected to take place in the coming weeks.

Journalists at the Persian-language TV station Iran International in London have been working flat out, vowing to "show the truth" about the protests in Iran, despite threats against them and their families.

The private broadcaster, housed in a heavily-secured building in west London, was labelled a "terrorist" organisation by Tehran in 2022 along with the BBC's Persian-language channel.

WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The United States is "open for business" if Iran wishes to contact Washington, a U.S. official said on Monday, as the United States seeks to pressure Tehran over a government crackdown on protesters.

"I think they know the terms," the official told reporters when asked about the terms of talks with Iran. "They're aware of the terms."

WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The United States believes disarmament by Hamas militants in Gaza comes along with some sort of amnesty for the Palestinian group, a U.S. official said on Monday.

The official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, spoke to mark the return of the remains of the last Israeli hostage held by Hamas. Israel and the United States are pressuring Hamas to disarm as part of a plan in which Gaza will be redeveloped.

The official said there is confidence among U.S. officials that Hamas will disarm.

Jan 26 (Reuters) - Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa will meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in Moscow, pro-government Syria TV reported on Monday.

(Reporting by Kinda Makieh; Writing by Menna Alaa El-Din)