DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — US President Donald Trump said Iran must negotiate with Washington after his threat to hit the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move that came as activists said Monday that the death toll in nationwide demonstrations had risen to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the comments, which came after Oman’s foreign minister — a longtime interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran over the weekend. It’s also unclear what Iran might promise, particularly since Trump has set tough demands on its nuclear program and ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists are crucial to its national defense.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to foreign diplomats in Tehran, insisted that “the situation has come under total control” in fiery remarks that blamed Israel and the United States for violence, without offering evidence.
“That’s why the demonstrations became violent and bloody to give the US president an excuse to intervene,” Araghchi said, in comments carried by the Qatari-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network. Al Jazeera was allowed to report from inside the country live even though the internet was off.
However, Araghchi said that Iran was “open to diplomacy.” The spokesman of the Iranian Foreign Ministry Esmail Baghaei said that a channel for the United States remained open, but the talks should be “based on the acceptance of mutual interests and concerns, not a negotiation that is one-sided, unilateral and based on dictation.”
Meanwhile on Monday, Iran called for pro-government protesters to take to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests that directly challenge the rule of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86 years old. Iranian state television broadcast chants from the crowd, which appeared to number in the tens of thousands, shouting “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump acknowledges proposal for talks
Trump and his national security team were weighing a range of potential responses against Iran, including cyber attacks and direct strikes from the United States 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, we will hit them at levels that have never been hit before.”
Trump said his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but warned 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 beaten by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran must negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being stopped, but we may have to act because of what is happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being stopped. Iran has called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran, through the country’s parliamentary speaker, warned on Sunday that the US military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect the protesters.
More than 10,600 people were also detained during the two weeks of protests, said the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which was accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It depends on the information that controls the fans in Iran. He said that 496 of the dead were demonstrators and 48 were with the security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut, gauging the demonstrations from the outside has become more difficult. The Associated Press could not independently assess the toll. Iran’s government did not offer overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners in Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second largest city Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purporting to show more demonstrations between Sunday night and Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
Fear runs through the capital of Iran
In Tehran, a witness told AP that the empty streets of the capital at sunset call for prayer every night. By the Isha, or night prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of this comes from the fear of being caught up in repression. The police sent to the public a message that warned: “Due to the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some meetings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision not to tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the riots, families are strongly recommended to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which he said came from the intelligence branch of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in the demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in light of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of open 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 AP on the condition of anonymity due to the ongoing repression.
The demonstrations began on December 28 due to 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 in part on its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
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Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.