US President Donald Trump suggested he may have to act before a meeting could be set up. Photo: MANDEL NGAN / AFP
By Stuart Williams for AFP
US President Donald Trump says Iran's leadership called him, seeking "to negotiate", after he repeatedly threatened to intervene militarily, if Tehran killed protesters.
For two weeks, Iran has been rocked by a protest movement that has swelled, despite a crackdown rights groups warn has become a "massacre".
Initially sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, the demonstrations have evolved into a serious challenge of the theocratic system in place since the 1979 revolution.
Information has continued to trickle out of Iran, despite a days-long internet shutdown, with videos filtering out of capital Tehran and other cities over the past three nights, showing large demonstrations.
As reports emerge of a growing protest death toll and images show bodies piled outside a morgue, Trump said Tehran indicated its willingness to talk.
"The leaders of Iran called" yesterday, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, adding that "a meeting is being set up... they want to negotiate".
However, he added: "We may have to act before a meeting."
The US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said it had received "eyewitness accounts and credible reports indicating that hundreds of protesters have been killed across Iran during the current internet shutdown".
"A massacre is unfolding," it said.
The Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) said it confirmed the killing of at least 192 protesters, but the actual toll could be much higher.
"Unverified reports indicate that at least several hundreds and, according to some sources, more than 2000 people may have been killed," said IHR.
More than 2600 protesters had been arrested, IHR estimated.
A video circulating on Sunday showed dozens of bodies accumulating outside a morgue south of Tehran.
Geolocated by AFP to Kahrizak, the footage showed bodies wrapped in black bags, with what appeared to be grieving relatives searching for loved ones.
Near paralysis
In Tehran, an AFP journalist described a city in a state of near paralysis.
The price of meat had nearly doubled since the start of the protests and many shops were closed. Those that did open must close at about 4-5pm, when security forces deployed en masse.
Fewer videos showed protests on social media Sunday, but it was not clear to what extent that was due to the internet shutdown.
One widely shared video showed protesters again gathering in the Pounak district of Tehran, shouting slogans in favour of the ousted monarchy.
The protests had become one of the biggest challenges to the rule of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, coming after Israel's 12-day war against the Islamic republic in June, which was backed by the United States.
State TV aired images of burning buildings, including a mosque, as well as funeral processions for security personnel.
After three days of mass actions, state outlets were at pains to present a picture of calm returning, broadcasting images of smooth-flowing traffic on Sunday. Tehran Governor Mohammad-Sadegh Motamedian insisted that "the number of protests is decreasing".
On Sunday, the Iranian government declared three days of national mourning for "martyrs", including members of the security forces killed.
President Masoud Pezeshkian also urged Iranians to join a "national resistance march" on Monday to denounce the violence.
In response to Trump's repeated threats to intervene, Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Iran would hit back, calling US military and shipping "legitimate targets" in comments broadcast by state TV.
'Stand with the people'
Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran's ousted shah, who has emerged as an anti-government figurehead, said he was prepared to return to the country and lead a democratic transition.
"I'm already planning on that," he told Fox News.
He later urged Iran's security forces and government workers to join the demonstrators.
"Employees of state institutions, as well as members of the armed and security forces, have a choice - stand with the people and become allies of the nation, or choose complicity with the murderers of the people," he said in a social media post.
He also urged protesters to replace the flags outside of Iranian embassies.
"The time has come for them to be adorned with Iran's national flag," he said.
The ceremonial, pre-revolution flag had become an emblem of the global rallies that had mushroomed in support of Iran's demonstrators.
In London, over the weekend, protesters managed to swap out the Iranian embassy flag, replacing it with the tri-colored banner used under the last shah.
- AFP