Trump increases pressure on Tehran: “Iran wants to negotiate”

A meeting with representatives of the Islamic Republic is being prepared, Tump continued on board the government plane. He did not specify what Iran would like to talk to the US about. The US would take the situation in Iran very seriously, said Trump. “The Military deals with itand we’re looking at some very drastic options. We will make a decision,” he said, adding that he receives hourly reports on developments in the country. According to information from the Wall Street Journal A meeting with senior US officials is planned for Tuesday.

The aim is to explore possible options, including the strengthening of anti-regime online sources, the use of cyber weapons against Iranian military and civilian locations, as well as further sanctions against the state leadership and military strikes. However, Trump is not expected to make a final decision at the meeting, the US newspaper reported. Trump had repeated Tehran warned against killing demonstrators. However, this is already happening.

Trump considers helping protests with satellite internet

Trump is considering supporting protesters in Iran with satellite internet. He wanted to call tech billionaire Elon Musk, whose company SpaceX operates the Starlink service, on Sunday (local time). Iran’s government has almost completely blocked people’s internet access, and telephone connections also appeared to no longer work in some cases. She wants to make communication between the demonstrators more difficult. In addition, the publication of reports, photos and videos about the mass protests should be suppressed.

“Iran called and they want to negotiate,” Trump said. They are tired of being beaten by the USA, he said – probably with a view to the Israeli attacks on the Iranian nuclear program, in which the US military also took part last year. A journalist initially asked Trump on the plane whether Iran might want to negotiate again with the USA about its controversial nuclear program. Afterwards, however, the reporter asked generally whether Iran wanted to negotiate.

Araqchi: Situation is completely under control

Foreign Minister Araqchi said the situation was completely under control. Since Trump’s warning of a US military response, the protests have turned violent to provide an excuse for this, Araqchi said on Monday. Iran is ready for war, but also for dialogue. He announced that the Internet would be switched back on in consultation with the security forces.

The latest protests in Iran have been going on for a good two weeks. They were sparked by rising inflation in the capital Tehran, expanded rapidly and are now also directed against the leadership of the Islamic Republic as a whole. The authorities accuse the USA and Israel of fomenting the unrest. The Iranian human rights organization HRANA now assumes almost 500 dead out of. More than 10,600 people be arrested been. The numbers are constantly increasing despite the severely restricted flow of information.

Call for further protests

Meanwhile, Reza Pahlavi, the son of the Shah who was overthrown in 1979, called for the next phase of the uprising “to overthrow the Islamic Republic” in a new message to the protest movement. In addition to occupying central streets in cities, all institutions that are responsible for state propaganda and interrupting communications are now “legitimate targets,” Pahlavi explained on the online platform

From his exile in the USA, he claims a leadership role in the opposition. How much support he actually has in Iran is unclear.

Regime once again put to the test

On Monday, the state power mobilized its own supporters. The state broadcaster published excerpts from the TV program on Telegram showing the demonstrations in several Iranian cities should show. Participants waved flags and showed pictures of some of the security forces killed in the unrest. Iran’s The head of justice demanded retaliation. “Decisive and effective measures should be taken to retaliate for the martyrs killed and victims of the recent unrest,” Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said, according to state broadcaster.

Anyone who attacked police forces or attacked security force facilities and city infrastructure must be brought to justice as a matter of priority, he emphasized.

The protests are the biggest domestic political challenge for the spiritual leadership of the Iran’s for at least three years. The economic situation has worsened due to international sanctions and the twelve-day war in June, in which Israel and the USA carried out air strikes on the Iran flew, worsened.

Die Iranian Leadership has in the past repeated riots including student protests in 1999, protests after a disputed election in 2009 and against economic hardship in 2019. The most serious protests to date broke out in 2022 and were under the motto “Woman, Life, Freedom”. They were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini. The Kurdish woman died in police custody on September 16, 2022 under controversial circumstances. The so-called moral police arrested her because she was said to have been dressed inappropriately.