The Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, has accused the US President, Donald Trump, of making statements that fuel the “bloody protest” ongoing in Iran.
Mr Araghchi told Foreign Diplomats in Tehran, the state capital, on Monday, that the protests in the country have grown violent to give the US an excuse to intervene militarily in the country.
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According to him, the protest, now brought under control, turned intensely violent over the weekend after Mr Trump threatened to take military action against the country.
He claimed “terrorists” have taken over the protest to target protesters and security forces, in order to invite foreign intervention.
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According to Al Jazeera, Mr Araghchi claimed that the Iranian authorities have video footage purporting to show arms being distributed among protesters.
He also stated that authorities will soon release confessions of detainees.
“We are ready for war but also for dialogue,” he added.
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The protest in Iran, which has now lasted 16 days, began on 28 December over the worsening economic crisis.
The Iranian currency had hit an all-time low against the US dollar, and shopkeepers and bazaar merchants in Tehran embarked on a strike to protest this. Over time, the protest spread to 574 locations in all of Iran’s 31 provinces.
According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), more than 500 people have died, and more than 10,000 people have been arrested.
The country has suffered a prolonged economic crisis that was exacerbated after Donald Trump reimposed US sanctions in 2018 during his first term as president. The situation further worsened after Israel launched strikes on the Islamic Republic in June last year in a 12-day war that targeted several of Iran’s nuclear sites and killed key officials.
READ ALSO: US bans Iranian officials at UN from shopping in New York
The ongoing protest, which first centred on the economy, expanded to politics, with protesters now chanting anti-government slogans.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump has threatened to have the US intervene militarily if Iranian authorities violently suppress and kill the protesters.
In a post on Truth Social, he declared that the US was “locked and loaded and ready to go” and that if Iran “shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, the United States of America will come to their rescue.”
The Iranian foreign minister responded strongly to this threat, warning Washington that any intervention would destabilise the region and that Iran would retaliate against an attack.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s response to any aggression will be swift, decisive, and comprehensive,” he said.
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