Iran does not plan to go to war, but is prepared for a possible war.
This was stated by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at a conference for foreign ambassadors in Tehran on Monday, writes the AFP news agency.
The announcement comes after US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the US military is exploring far-reaching options for taking action against the Iranian regime.
The background is that several hundred civilians are reported to have been killed during the demonstrations in the country in recent weeks.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran does not seek war, but is fully prepared for war," says Abbas Araghchi.
- We are also ready to negotiate, but these negotiations must be fair with equal rights and based on mutual respect.
According to the human rights organization HRANA, nearly 500 demonstrators have been killed during the protests in Iran, which began on December 28 and stemmed from dissatisfaction with high inflation in the country.
Since then, the demonstrations have become about a general dissatisfaction with the Iranian clerical regime.
Trump said Sunday that Iran's leadership has contacted the US administration to seek what the president describes as negotiation.
"A meeting is being set up. They want to negotiate," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
The demonstrations have put Iran's clerical regime under intense pressure. The clerical regime has ruled Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Along the way, Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son of Iran's last shah, has shown his support for the protesters.
His father, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, was the leader of Iran's monarchy until 1979, when the monarchy was overthrown and he and his family were forced into exile.
Reza Pahlavi has urged the demonstrators to continue the protests.
"I'm proud of you," he wrote on Facebook on Friday.
However, it is likely that few Iranians have seen Pahlavi's post, because there has been a nationwide internet outage in Iran since Thursday.
