By Nayera Abdallah and Maayan Lubell

DUBAI/JERUSALEM, Jan 14 (Reuters) - The death toll from unrest in Iran climbed to almost 2,600, a rights group said on Wednesday, as Tehran stepped up diplomatic contacts with U.S.-allies in the region over a crisis that has drawn threats of intervention from President Donald Trump.

According to an Israeli assessment, Trump has decided to intervene but the scope and timing of this action remains unclear, an Israeli official said.

A second Israeli source, a government official, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet was briefed late on Tuesday about the chances of regime collapse and the chances of U.S. intervention in Iran, an arch-foe with which it fought a 12-day war last year.

The protests which began on December 28 in response to soaring inflation have spiralled into one of the biggest challenges to Iran's clerical establishment since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

In an interview with CBS News on Tuesday, Trump vowed "very strong action" if Iran started hanging protesters, but didn't elaborate. "If they hang them, you're going to see some things," he said. He also urged Iranians on Tuesday to keep protesting and take over institutions, declaring "help is on the way" but without giving details.

IRAN HOLDS CONTACTS WITH TURKEY, UAE, QATAR

Iranian state media........

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