Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Monday described the country’s crackdown on protesters as a “war against terrorists” as he addressed a huge pro-government rally in the national capital Tehran.
As anti-government protests continue to cripple Iran for nearly two weeks now, the country began arresting demonstrators as part of a crackdown.
“Iran is fighting a four-front war,” Bloomberg reported quoting Ghalibaf as saying.
The speaker explained that Iran is fighting an economic, psychological and military war against United States and Israel and today, a war against terrorists.
While Ghalibaf vowed that the Iranian military would teach US President Donald Trump “an unforgettable lesson” if he carries out a new attack, he affirmed that Iran nation had “never allowed the enemy to achieve its goals”. He was flanked by slogans like “Death to Israel, Death to America” in Persian.
Claims of ‘full control’
After two weeks of protests against Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday said that the security have “full control” of the situation.
He claimed the protests turned violent in order to provide an excuse for Trump to interfere in Iran’s internal affairs, according to Al Jazeera.
He added that “rioters and terrorists” killed police and civilians apart from destroying public property in what he referred to as “Daesh-style violence”, referring to the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State terror group.
“We have many pieces of evidence which show interference by the US and Israel in this terrorist war,” Araghchi told the Iranian state TV. The minister did not share such evidence.
Negotiation talks
After US threatened to strike Iran following its deadly crackdown on protesters, Donald Trump on Sunday claimed that Iran had proposed negotiations.
Trump said his administration was in talks to arrange a meeting with Tehran, while signaling that the United States could still take action if the situation worsens before talks begin.
Araghchi said that Iran is ready for negotiations which are serious, real and based on mutual respect and national interests.
Deaths and detentions as protests rattle Iran
Widespread protests broke out in Iran on December 28 after a sudden drop in the value of its currency.
According to a US-based human rights news agency, at least 544 people have been killed so far, including 496 protesters and 48 members of the security forces.
About 10,600 people have also been detained. The Iranian government has not released any official casualty figures yet.
(With inputs from agencies)