US President Trump claims Iran’s leaders called to negotiate as rights groups report hundreds killed in ongoing anti-government protests.
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Iran’s leadership had called him seeking “to negotiate” after he threatened military intervention over the protest crackdown.
He told reporters aboard Air Force One that “a meeting is being set up” but warned “we may have to act before a meeting”. The statement follows two weeks of widespread demonstrations in Iran that have evolved into a major challenge to the theocratic system.
Information continues to emerge despite an internet shutdown, with videos showing large protests in Tehran and other cities. The US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran warned a “massacre is unfolding,” citing credible reports of hundreds killed.
The Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights confirmed at least 192 protester deaths but said the actual toll could be much higher. Unverified reports suggest several hundred to over 2,000 may have been killed, with more than 2,600 arrested.
A video geolocated to Kahrizak, south of Tehran, showed dozens of bodies wrapped in black bags outside a morgue. In the capital, an AFP journalist described a city in a state of near paralysis with soaring prices and early shop closures.
State media broadcast images of smooth-flowing traffic, with Tehran’s governor claiming protest numbers were decreasing. The government declared three days of national mourning for “martyrs” including slain security personnel.
President Masoud Pezeshkian urged Iranians to join a “national resistance march” to denounce the violence. In response to Trump’s threats, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said US military and shipping were “legitimate targets”.
Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran’s ousted shah, said he was prepared to return and lead a democratic transition. He urged state employees and security forces to “stand with the people” and become allies of the nation.
Pahlavi also called for protesters to replace flags outside Iranian embassies with Iran’s pre-revolution national flag. In London, demonstrators swapped the Iranian embassy flag for the tri-colored banner used under the monarchy.
