Iran govt stages mass rallies in wake of protests

• Araghchi says Iran not seeking war but fully prepared for it.
• Iran fighting a "four-front war", says Bagher Ghalibaf.
• Ghalibaf warns of “unforgettable lesson” if Iran attacked.
  

Iranian authorities on Monday sought to regain control of the streets with mass nationwide rallies in the wake of protests on a scale unprecedented in recent years.

The foreign minister said Iran was ready for both war and talks after repeated threats from Washington to intervene militarily over the crackdown on protests, which activists fear has left at least hundreds dead.

Over two weeks of demonstrations 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 ousted the shah.

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

Thousands of people filled the capital's Enghelab (Revolution) Square, brandishing the national flag as prayers were read for victims of what the government has termed "riots", state TV showed.

Addressing the crowds, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran is fighting a "four-front war", listing economic war, psychological war, "military war" with the United States and Israel and "today a war against terrorists", referring to the protests.

Flanked by the slogans "Death to Israel, Death to America" in Persian, he vowed the Iranian military would teach US President Donald Trump "an unforgettable lesson" if Iran were attacked.

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.

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