Sawt Falasteen - Iran says 'prepared for war' as alarm grows over protest toll

Over two weeks of protests initially sparked by economic grievances have turned into one of the biggest challenges yet to the theocratic system that has ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the shah.

In a sign of the severity of the crisis, the authorities have imposed an internet blackout that has now lasted more than three-and-a-half days and that activists say is aimed at masking the extent of the deadly crackdown.

Seeking to regain the initiative, the government was looking to fill streets nationwide with rallies backing the Islamic republic.

Trump said Sunday that Iran's leadership under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in power since 1989 and now 86, had called him seeking "to negotiate" after he repeatedly threatened to intervene militarily if Tehran killed protesters.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is not seeking war but is fully prepared for war," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told a conference of foreign ambassadors in Tehran broadcast by state television.

"We are also ready for negotiations but these negotiations should be fair, with equal rights and based on mutual respect."

Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said a channel of communication is open between Araghchi and Trump's special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff despite the lack of diplomatic relations.

"Messages are exchanged whenever necessary," he said, noting that while the United States has no diplomatic presence in Iran, its interests are represented by the Swiss embassy.

Meanwhile, the foreign minister of Oman, which has on occasion acted as a mediator, met Araghchi in Tehran on Saturday.

Trump, who has threatened new military action after the US backed Israel's 12-day war against Iran in June, said Tehran had 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".

He added, however, that "we may have to act before a meeting".

- Soaring toll -

Iran's shutdown of the internet has now lasted more than 84 hours, said monitor Netblocks. The blackout has severely affected the ability of Iranians to post videos of the mass protests that have rocked big cities since Thursday.

A video circulating on Sunday showed dozens of bodies accumulating outside a morgue south of Tehran amid fears the toll from a crackdown on the protests could amount to hundreds of people or even higher.

The footage, geolocated by AFP to Kahrizak, showed bodies wrapped in black bags, with what appeared to be grieving relatives searching for loved ones.

"Unverified reports indicate that at least several hundreds, and according to some sources, more than 2,000 people may have been killed," said IHR.

More than 2,600 protesters have been arrested, IHR estimated.

The People's Mujahedin (MEK) opposition group, which is banned in Iran, said that according to its sources inside the country more than 3,000 people have been killed.

Iranian state media has said dozens of members of the security forces have been killed, with their funerals turning into large pro-government rallies.

State outlets were at pains to present a picture of calm returning, broadcasting images of smooth-flowing traffic. Tehran Governor Mohammad-Sadegh Motamedian insisted in televised comments that "the number of protests is decreasing".

With the government declaring three days of national mourning for victims of what it has termed "riots", state television broadcast images of pro-Islamic republic rallies beginning in several cities with a march in Tehran expected later Monday.

- 'Stand with the people' -

Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran's ousted shah, urged Iran's security forces and government workers to join the protests against the authorities.

He also urged protesters to replace the flags outside Iranian embassies.

"The time has come for them to be adorned with Iran's national flag," he said.

The ceremonial, pre-revolution flag has become an emblem of the global rallies that have mushroomed in support of Iran's demonstrators.

In London, protesters over the weekend swapped out the Iranian embassy flag, hoisting in its place a banner featuring a Persian lion used under the shah. The Iranian foreign ministry said it had summoned the British ambassador to Tehran over the incident.

Z.Ramadan--SF-PST