US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its crackdown on protesters in nationwide demonstrations that activists said Monday had left at least 646 people dead.
Iran had no direct reaction to Trump's comments
Iran had no direct reaction to Trump's comments, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — travelled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear programmw and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defence.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to foreign diplomats in Tehran, insisted “the situation has come under total control” in remarks that blamed Israel and the US for the violence, without offering evidence.
“That's why the demonstrations turned violent and bloody to give an excuse to the American president to intervene,” Araghchi said, in comments carried by Al Jazeera. The Qatar-funded network has been allowed to report live from inside Iran, despite the internet being shut off. However, Araghchi said Iran was “open to diplomacy.”
Channel to the US remained open, says Iran
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said that a channel to the US remained open, but talks needed to be “based on the acceptance of mutual interests and concerns, not a negotiation that is one-sided, unilateral and based on dictation.”
Meanwhile, pro-government demonstrators flooded the streets on Monday 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, which appeared to number in the tens of thousands, 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 US or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who weren't authorised 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 says he was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran
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.” Iran, through the country's parliamentary speaker, warned Sunday that the US military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if Washington uses force to protect demonstrators.
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