Washington
\nIran is fully prepared for conflict but also ready for negotiations, its foreign minister said on Monday, as US President Donald Trump said the Iranian leadership was seeking talks after he threatened to intervene militarily over a crackdown on protests and that he was weighing a range of strong responses.
\nThe escalating protests in Iran, which began on December 28 in response to soaring prices, now pose one of the biggest challenges to the government since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
\nTrump has warned Iran\u2019s leaders that the United States would attack if security forces open fire on protesters, while Iranian authorities have accused the US and Israel of fomenting unrest.
\nSpeaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday night, Trump said the US may meet Iranian officials and was in contact with the opposition, as he weighed a range of strong responses, including military options, to the protests.
\nHe said Iran called to negotiate its nuclear programme, which Israel and the US bombed in a 12-day war in June.
\n\u201cThe leaders of Iran called\u201d yesterday, Trump told reporters, adding that \u201ca meeting is being set up\u2026 They want to negotiate.\u201d
\nHowever, Trump added that \u201cwe may have to act before a meeting\u201c.
\nTrump was to meet with senior advisers on Tuesday to discuss options for Iran, a US official told Reuters on Sunday.
\nThe Wall Street Journal has reported that options included military strikes, using secret cyber weapons, widening sanctions and providing online help to anti-government sources.
\n\u201cThe military is looking at it, and we\u2019re looking at some very strong options,\u201d Trump told reporters.
\nFollowing his statement, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told a conference of foreign ambassadors in Tehran on Monday that \u201cthe Islamic Republic of Iran is not seeking war but is fully prepared for war\u201c.
\n\u201cWe are also ready for negotiations, but these negotiations should be fair, with equal rights and based on mutual respect,\u201c he said.
\nIranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf earlier warned Washington against \u201ca miscalculation.\u201d
\n\u201cLet us be clear: in the case of an attack on Iran, the occupied territories (Israel) as well as all US bases and ships will be our legitimate target,\u201d said Qalibaf, a former commander in Iran\u2019s elite Revolutionary Guards.<\/p>\n
Iran expresses deep concern over \u2018increasing foreign interference\u2019
\nIran expressed deep concern regarding \u201cincreasing foreign interference in the country\u2019s internal affairs and recent protests\u201c, referring to the statements and remarks issued by Israel and the US.
\nAccording to a statement issued by the Iranian Embassy in Islamabad on X, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu made \u201cblatantly interventionist statements regarding Iran\u2019s internal developments and has portrayed himself as sympathetic to the Iranian people\u201d.
\n\u201cSuch claims are profoundly deceptive, particularly considering the aggressive actions of this regime against Iran, which have resulted in the killing of more than 1,100 Iranian citizens.\u201d
\nIt further said Israel \u201cseeks to exploit every opportunity to sow division within Iranian society and undermine national cohesion.\u201d
\nIt termed the statements by Israel and \u201ccertain hardline American officials amount to incitement to violence, terrorism and criminal acts\u201d.
\nThe statement also strongly condemned the \u201cinterventionist statements\u201d made by the US president and other American officials regarding \u201cIran\u2019s internal affairs\u201d.
\n\u201cSuch coercive and unlawful positions constitute a flagrant violation of the fundamental principles of UN Charter and international law, particularly the principle of sovereignty and non-intervention, and effectively amount to encouragement of violence and terrorism against Iranian citizens,\u201d it added.
\nThe statement reaffirmed Iran\u2019s commitment to its obligation under \u201cinternational human rights law regarding respecting and protecting the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly guaranteed under the Constitution,\u201d saying the \u201cgovernment recognised the lawful demands of peaceful protesters and started utilising all available capacities to address the demands\u201d.
\nHowever, it said, the distinction should be made between peaceful protest and riots or violent acts.
\nAs Iran is \u201cfully committed to supporting and protecting the right of its citizens to peaceful and lawful protest, it is equally obliged to prevent threats to public security,\u201c the statement said.<\/p>\n
Near paralysis
\nIn Tehran, an AFP journalist described a city in a state of near paralysis.
\nThe price of meat has nearly doubled since the start of the protests, and many shops are closed. Those that do open must close at around 4:00 or 5:00pm, when security forces deploy en masse.
\nThere were fewer videos showing protests on social media Sunday, but it was not clear to what extent that was due to the internet shutdown.
\nOne widely shared video showed protesters again gathering in the Pounak district of Tehran shouting slogans in favour of the ousted monarchy.
\nThe protests have become one of the biggest challenges to the rule of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, coming in the wake of Israel\u2019s 12-day war against the Islamic republic in June, which was backed by the United States.
\nState TV has aired images of burning buildings, including a mosque, as well as funeral processions for security personnel.
\nIran has not given an official casualty toll for the protests.
\nAfter three days of mass actions, state outlets were at pains to present a picture of calm returning, broadcasting images of smooth-flowing traffic on Sunday.
\nTehran Governor Mohammad-Sadegh Motamedian insisted in televised comments that \u201cthe number of protests is decreasing\u201d.
\nThe Iranian government on Sunday declared three days of national mourning for \u201cmartyrs\u201d including members of the security forces killed.
\nPresident Masoud Pezeshkian also urged Iranians to join a \u201cnational resistance march\u201d Monday to denounce the violence.<\/p>\n
Trump says he will talk to Musk about restoring internet in Iran\u200b
\nTrump also said that he plans to speak with billionaire Elon Musk about restoring internet in Iran, where authorities have blacked out services for four days.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s very good at that kind of thing, he\u2019s got a very good company,\u201d Trump told reporters in response to a question about whether he would engage with Musk\u2019s SpaceX company, which offers a satellite internet service called Starlink that has been used in Iran.
\nMusk and SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
\nThe flow of information from Iran has been hampered by an internet blackout since Thursday.<\/p>\n
Son of ousted Iran shah urges security forces to \u2018stand with the people\u2019
\nThe US-based son of Iran\u2019s ousted shah urged Iranian government workers and security forces to join the swelling protest movement in the Islamic Republic.
\n\u201cEmployees of state institutions, as well as members of the armed and security forces, have a choice: stand with the people and become allies of the nation, or choose complicity with the murderers of the people,\u201d Reza Pahlavi posted on social media.
\nPahlavi, who has emerged as an opposition figurehead, also called for replacing the flags outside of Iranian embassies with the pre-Islamic revolution flag.
\n\u201cThe time has come for them to be adorned with Iran\u2019s national flag, in place of the disgraceful banner of the Islamic Republic,\u201d he said.
\nIn London, protesters managed to swap out the Iranian embassy flag over the weekend, hoisting in its place the tri-coloured banner used under the last Shah.
\nThe ceremonial, pre-revolution flag has become an emblem of the global rallies that have mushroomed in support of Iran\u2019s demonstrations.
\nThe Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the British ambassador in Tehran on Sunday over the flag swapping, according to the official IRNA outlet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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