Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that protests across the country had “turned violent and bloody in order to provide an excuse” to the United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump for military intervention in the country.
Araghchi told foreign diplomats in Tehran on Monday that violence had increased over the weekend, but that “the situation is now fully under control.”
Araghchi also said that Iran has footage of weapons being distributed to demonstrators, adding that the authorities will soon publish confessions of detainees.
Third week of protests
The demonstrations were “incited by foreign elements,” the Iranian minister said, noting that security forces would “find” those responsible.
Iranian protests, which are increasingly spreading, have entered a third week amid a nationwide internet outage and repeated threats of military intervention from Trump.
The government declared three days of national mourning for the “martyrs” killed during the protests, including members of the security forces.
Iranian media reported on Sunday that 109 members of the security forces had been killed in the protests.
The authorities have not confirmed the number of demonstrators who lost their lives, but opposition activists outside the country said the death toll was higher and included hundreds of demonstrators. None of these figures could be independently verified.
Pro-government rallies
Initially sparked by anger over rising living costs, the demonstrations developed into national protests and a serious challenge to the government that has been in power since the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Furthermore, Iranian media reported that limited protests took place late Sunday evening in several neighborhoods of the capital.
In the Navvab and Saadat Abad neighborhoods in Tehran, Junqan and Hafshejan in the provinces of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, and Taybad in Mashhad, limited “riots” occurred, which were dispersed by security forces.
Moreover, it was reported that other cities and regions in the country were largely calm without “riots” during the night.
On Monday, Iranian media showed footage on their Telegram channels of pro-government rallies from various cities, including a large gathering in Tehran attended by thousands of people.
“War against terrorists”
State agencies aired footage of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attending a rally in Tehran.
In the footage released by Iranian media, he can be seen greeting citizens waving flags as he marches among them.
Meanwhile, Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf called the government’s response to the situation a “war against terrorists,” addressing the crowd in the capital.
Iran is waging a “war on four fronts,” he said, citing an economic war, a psychological war, a “military war” with the U.S. and Israel, and “today’s war against terrorists.”
“National internet shutdown”
According to reports, the internet has been down nationwide for a fourth day, a move that human rights organizations have widely criticized.
The internet connectivity monitoring organization NetBlocks reported that internet services across Iran remain down, describing the situation as a “national internet shutdown.”
It has been 84 hours since the country last had consistent internet connectivity. However, NetBlocks noted that some Iranians have developed methods to bypass the restrictions.
Recently, fewer videos showing protests have appeared on social media due to the internet shutdown.
United Kingdom (UK) – based Amnesty International condemned the practice on Friday as a way of concealing “violations amid escalating deadly confrontations with demonstrators.”
Araghchi said that internet service would soon be restored and that the government is coordinating with security forces to make progress in that regard. He said that connections would also be restored in embassies and government ministries.
Part of the same rhetoric
The Iranian leadership wants to show that the situation in the country is under control, and that is why the internet will be turned back on, said Mehran Kamrava, an Iranian analyst at Georgetown University in Qatar.
Araghchi “does not want to lose face,” he added, “but what we are seeing is a multi-pronged approach” by Iran to end the unrest.
Tohid Asadi, a journalist reporting from Tehran, said that Araghchi’s statements were “part of the same rhetoric we have heard from various Iranian political figures.”
“Basically, there are three components we need to keep in mind when it comes to this particular discourse,” he said.
First, Asadi said, Iranian officials have stated that they recognize “people’s right to participate in peaceful protests” due to the economic difficulties they are facing.
Second, he said, they claim that the country is also witnessing “unrest that is turning violent” that has been ongoing since Thursday, resulting in deaths, injuries, and arrests, and they emphasize the deaths of Iranian security officers.
The journalist said that the third component that made the situation “even more complex” was “growing security concerns related to foreign intervention.”
Trump: We are considering some very strong options
As protests continue despite security measures, Trump said on Sunday that the U.S. is considering “strong options” in response to the situation in Iran, including possible military intervention.
“We’re considering it very seriously. The military is considering it, and we’re considering some very strong options. We’ll make a decision,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One, adding that Iranian leaders had called “for negotiations” after his threats of military action and that a “meeting is being arranged.”
