Azernews.Az

Akbar Novruz

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Iran’s foreign minister claimed Monday that “the situation has come under total control” after a bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in the country. Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim, Azernews reports via Associated Press.

Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.

In addition, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday suggested that a channel remained open with the United States.

Esmail Baghaei made the comment during a news conference in Tehran.

“It is open, and whenever needed, through that channel, the necessary messages are exchanged,” he said.

However, Baghaei said such talks needed to be “based on the acceptance of mutual interests and concerns, not a negotiation that is one-sided, unilateral and based on dictation.”

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Iran has proposed negotiations with Washington following his warning that the United States could strike the Islamic Republic over its violent crackdown on demonstrators, as activists reported that at least 544 people have been killed in protests across the country.

Beginning on 28 December 2025, mass demonstrations erupted across Iran amid a deepening economic crisis and general dissatisfaction with the Islamic Republic government. The events have been described as the largest uprising since the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests, and potentially the largest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Initially sparked by frustration over record-high inflation, food prices, and currency depreciation, the protests quickly evolved into a broader movement demanding an end to the current regime.

Beginning with the bazaari (shopkeepers and merchants) in Tehran's Grand Bazaar and later university students, the demonstrations soon spread not only to major cities but also small settlements chanting anti-government slogans and destroying symbols of the government and the IRGC.