Trump says Iran has reached out to negotiate as protest death toll climbs

 

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Iran’s leaders had reached out to him seeking negotiations, as deadly protests continue to rock the country and reports of mass killings mount.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said Tehran contacted him after he repeatedly warned of possible US military intervention if Iranian authorities continued killing protesters.

“The leaders of Iran called yesterday,” Trump said. “A meeting is being set up… They want to negotiate.”

He added, however, that “we may have to act before a meeting.”

Iran has been gripped by nationwide protests for more than two weeks, initially sparked by anger over soaring living costs but now posing one of the most serious challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution. Rights groups say the government’s response has escalated into what they describe as a massacre.

Despite a near-total internet shutdown lasting several days, videos have continued to emerge from Tehran and other cities, showing large crowds demonstrating late into the night.

As the reported death toll rises, the US-based Centre for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said it had received eyewitness accounts and credible information indicating that hundreds of protesters had been killed during the crackdown.

“A massacre is unfolding,” the group said.

Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) confirmed at least 192 deaths but warned the true figure could be far higher.

“Unverified reports suggest that several hundred, and possibly more than 2,000 people, may have been killed,” IHR said, adding that more than 2,600 protesters have been arrested.

A widely shared video on Sunday showed dozens of bodies outside a morgue south of Tehran. The footage, geolocated by AFP to Kahrizak, appeared to show bodies wrapped in black bags as grieving relatives searched for loved ones.

City at a standstill

An AFP journalist in Tehran described the capital as being in a state of near paralysis. Meat prices have almost doubled since the protests began, and many shops remain closed. Those that do open shut by late afternoon, ahead of heavy security deployments.

Although fewer protest videos circulated online on Sunday, it was unclear whether this reflected a lull in demonstrations or the impact of the internet blackout. One widely shared clip showed protesters gathering again in Tehran’s Pounak district, chanting slogans in support of the former monarchy.

The unrest represents one of the biggest challenges yet to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, and follows Israel’s US-backed 12-day war against Iran in June.

State television has aired images of burning buildings, including a mosque, as well as funerals for security personnel. However, after days of mass protests, state media sought to project a return to calm, broadcasting footage of free-flowing traffic. Tehran Governor Mohammad-Sadegh Motamedian said on state TV that “the number of protests is decreasing.”

The government declared three days of national mourning on Sunday for “martyrs,” including security forces killed in the unrest. President Masoud Pezeshkian also called on citizens to take part in a “national resistance march” on Monday to condemn the violence.

Responding to Trump’s warnings, Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the country would retaliate against any US action, calling American military assets and shipping “legitimate targets” in remarks broadcast on state television.

Calls to stand with protesters

Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran’s ousted shah and an emerging opposition figure, said he was prepared to return to Iran to help lead a democratic transition.

“I’m already planning on that,” he told Fox News on Sunday.

He later appealed to security forces and government employees to side with demonstrators.

“They have a choice: stand with the people and become allies of the nation, or be complicit in the murder of the people,” he said in a social media post.

Pahlavi also urged protesters abroad to replace Iranian embassy flags with the pre-revolution national banner, which has become a symbol of solidarity at global rallies.

In London over the weekend, demonstrators briefly replaced the Iranian embassy flag with the tricolour used under the last shah.

— AFP