Trump says Iran wants to negotiate as hundreds have been killed in protests – National
US President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after it threatened to attack the Islamic Republic over its crackdown on protesters, which came as activists said on Monday the death toll from nationwide protests had risen to at least 544.
Iran did not directly respond to Trump’s comments, which come after the foreign minister of Oman – who has long been a mediator between Washington and Tehran – traveled to Iran this weekend. And it remains unclear what Iran can promise, especially since Trump has made tough demands on its nuclear program and its ballistic missiles, which Tehran insists are vital to national security.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to foreign diplomats in Tehran, insisted that “the situation is completely under control” with fiery words accusing Israel and the US of violence, without providing evidence.
“That’s why the protests turned violent and bloody to give the American president an excuse to intervene,” Araghchi said, in remarks carried by the Qatar-backed Al Jazeera satellite news network. Al Jazeera is allowed to report from inside the country live despite the internet being shut down.
However, Araghchi said Iran is “open to negotiations.” A spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Esmail Baghaei, said the channel to the US remains open, but talks must be “based on the acceptance of common interests and concerns, not one-sided and arbitrary negotiations.”
Meanwhile on Monday, Iran drew tens of thousands of pro-government protesters to the streets in support of democracy, a sign of strength after days of direct protests against the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television broadcast chants from the crowd, which appeared to number in the tens of thousands, chanting “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Others shouted: “Death to God’s enemies!” Iran’s attorney general said prosecutors would charge the protesters with such charges, which carry the death penalty.
Trump accepts the proposal
Trump and his national security team were weighing a range of possible responses against Iran, including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the US 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.
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“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at other, more powerful options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels they have never been hit before.”
Trump said his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but warned he might take the first step as reports of deaths in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they are tired of being beaten by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being established, but we may have to stand up because of what happened before the meeting. But the meeting is being established. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran, through the Speaker of the Parliament, warned on Sunday that American and Israeli soldiers “will be legitimate victims” if the United States uses force to protect the protesters.
More than 10,600 people have been arrested in two weeks of protests, said the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been the most accurate in recent years of unrest and provided a death toll. It depends on Iran’s allies cutting off information. It said 496 of the dead were protesting and 48 were soldiers.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines down, measuring protests from abroad has become increasingly difficult. The Associated Press has not been able to independently verify the street price. The Iranian government did not provide figures for casualties.
Foreigners fear that the blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters filled the streets of the country’s capital and second largest city Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show further protests on Sunday night on Monday, a Tehran official confirmed to state media.
At 2:00 p.m. Monday, Iranian state TV showed images of protesters crowding Tehran toward Enghelab Square, or “Islamic Revolution” Square in the capital. Statements were being issued this morning from the Iranian government, security and religious leaders to attend the protest.
It called the meeting an “Iranian uprising against American-Zionist terrorism,” without addressing the country’s anger over the country’s weak economy. State TV broadcast footage of such protests across the country, trying to show that it had defeated the protests.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital are empty when the sun sets and prayers are held every night. During Isha, or night prayer, the streets are empty.
Part of that comes from the fear of being caught in a burglary. The police sent a message to the public that warned: “Due to the presence of terrorist groups and armed people in other gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision not to tolerate any appeasement and directly confront the riots, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and youth.”
Another document, said to be from the Revolutionary Guard’s intelligence wing, also specifically warned people not to participate in protests.
“Dear parents, given the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, … stop being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and tell your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist soldiers, which is an example of treason,” the text warns.
The witness spoke to the AP but asked not to be identified because of the ongoing incident.
The protests began on December 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at more than 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions imposed on its nuclear program. The protests intensified and escalated into calls challenging Iran’s theocracy.
