Trump: Iran Wants to Negotiate With WH 01/12 06:25

   U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington 
after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on 
protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the 
nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

   DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran 
wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic 
Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists 
said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 
544.

   Iran had no direct reaction to Trump's comments, which came after the 
foreign minister of Oman -- long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran 
-- traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could 
promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program 
and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its 
national defense.

   Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to foreign diplomats in 
Tehran, insisted "the situation has come under total control" in fiery remarks 
that blamed Israel and the U.S. 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 
the Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network. Al Jazeera has been allowed 
to report from inside the country live despite the internet being shut off.

   However, Araghchi said Iran was "open to diplomacy." Iranian Foreign 
Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said a channel to the U.S. 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 Monday, Iran drew tens of thousands of pro-government 
demonstrators to head to the streets 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!"

   Others cried out: "Death to the enemies of God!" Iran's attorney general has 
said prosecutors will levy such charges against protesters, which carry the 
death penalty.

   Trump acknowledges proposal for talks

   Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential 
responses against Iran, including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. 
or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House 
discussions who were not authorized 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 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."

   He added: "The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of 
what's happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran 
called, they want to negotiate."

   Iran, through the country's parliamentary speaker, warned Sunday that the 
U.S. military and Israel would be "legitimate targets" if America uses force to 
protect demonstrators.

   More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of 
protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has 
been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It 
relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead 
were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

   With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the 
demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has 
been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran's government has not offered 
overall casualty figures.

   Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within 
Iran's security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the 
streets in the country's capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night 
into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday 
night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

   At 2 p.m. Monday, Iranian state TV showed images of demonstrators thronging 
Tehran toward Enghelab Square, or "Islamic Revolution" Square in the capital. 
It had been airing statements all morning from Iranian government, security and 
religious leaders to attend the demonstration.

   It called the rally an "Iranian uprising against American-Zionist 
terrorism," without addressing the underlying anger in the country over the 
nation's ailing economy. State TV aired images of such demonstrations around 
the country, trying to signal it had overcome the protests.

   Fear pervades Iran's capital

   In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at 
the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the 
streets are deserted.

   Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police 
sent the public a text message that warned: "Given the presence of terrorist 
groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to 
cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal 
decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of 
their youth and teenagers."

   Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the 
paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part 
in demonstrations.

   "Dear parents, in view of the enemy's plan to increase the level of naked 
violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets 
and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about 
the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example 
of treason against the country," the text warned.

   The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing 
crackdown.

   The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial 
currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country's economy is 
squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. 
The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran's 
theocracy.