Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, has said the country is “prepared for war” amid the deadly protests that have spread across all of Iran’s 31 provinces. “We are not looking for war, but we are prepared for war—even more prepared than the previous war,” Araghchi told foreign ambassadors in Tehran on Monday, seemingly referring to the U.S.-Iran conflictin June last year. During the televised address, Araghchi emphasized that Iran is “also ready for negotiations” but any discussions must be “fair, with equal rights and mutual respect.”
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Regarding the protests, Araghchi said that “the situation is now under total control” and that the unrest had “turned violent and bloody to give an excuse” for Trump to intervene. He did not provide evidence pertaining to this.
Araghchi’s comments came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump, during a press gaggle on Air Force One, said the U.S. is considering “very strong options” regarding intervention in Iran amid the rising death toll as protesters rally against the regime.
“There seemed to be some people killed who aren’t supposed to be killed. These are violent ‘leaders’ who rule through violence. We’re looking at it very seriously, the military’s looking at it. We’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters.
While Trump doubled down on his previous statements regarding a U.S. intervention, should Iran cross his red line, he also highlighted the possibility of negotiations.
“The leaders of Iran called. They want to negotiate. I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” said Trump, seemingly referencing last year’s conflict that saw the U.S. launch air strikes on three nuclear facilities inside Iran after joining Israel’s mission to strangle Tehran’s ability to build a nuclear weapon.
Trump said a meeting “is being set up,” but warned that the U.S. may well have to “act” before such a sit-down can take place “because of what’s happening.”
Concerns continue to mount for Iranians who, as well as facing a crackdown by the regime, are also battling with an Internet blackout that went into place on Thursday, at the behest of the authorities. The protests, that started on Dec. 28 and were initially in response to the declining economic landscape, have grown exponentially, with demonstrators now calling for an end to the authoritarian regime that has ruled since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
While on-the-ground reports remain somewhat limited, a doctor in Tehran told TIME on Friday that more than 200 people had been reported dead after the regime opened fire on protesters. As the demonstrations rage on, that number has reportedly grown. An informal, expatriate group of academics and professionals told TIME on Sunday that, per their calculations, protester deaths could have reached 6,000 through Saturday.
TIME has been unable to independently verify these figures.
Read More: Death Toll in Iran May Already Be in the Thousands
The world’s gaze continues to fall upon Iran, and also the U.S., as Trump previously vowed that the Iranian regime led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would “pay hell” if protesters were killed. But it remains to be seen what that could look like—and how it would fare for the United States.
One commentator on geopolitics, in an article for TIME, maintains that Trump “has no good options” regarding his next steps for Iran. “Washington can help at the margins: targeted sanctions, technology to bypass internet blackouts, diplomatic pressure. What it cannot do is deliver liberation from the sky,” they remarked, arguing that the U.S. is limited in what it can truly do in the fight to liberate Iran.
Iran, for the most part, has been clear on its intentions, should the U.S. intervene militarily as it did in Venezuela. “All American military centers, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets,” said Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, over the weekend.
As of Monday morning, “channels of communication with the United States remain open” both directly and via intermediate negotiations, according to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei.
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