Iran has claimed the weeks of anti-government protests taking place across the country have now subsided, after the death toll has risen to at least 544.
The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said on Monday that the "situation has come under control" in fiery remarks that blamed Israel and the United States for the violence, without offering evidence.
"That's why the demonstrations turned violent and bloody to give an excuse to the American president to intervene," Mr Araghchi was reported to have told foreign diplomats in Tehran, according to the Al Jazeera satellite news network.
The Qatar-funded broadcaster has been allowed to report from inside the country live despite the internet being shut off.
On Monday, Iran's government also called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted "Death to America!" and "Death to Israel!"
Trump acknowledges proposal for talks
Earlier on Monday, US President Donald Trump said "Iran wants to negotiate" with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters.
Tehran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — travelled to Iran this weekend.
It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Mr Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defence.
Mr Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyber attacks and direct strikes by the US or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
"The military is looking at it, and we're looking at some very strong options," the US president told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday night, local time.
Asked about Iran's threats of retaliation, he said: "If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they've never been hit before."
Mr Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he might have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continued to arrest protesters.
"I think they're tired of being beat up by the United States," Mr Trump said. "Iran wants to negotiate."
He added: "The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what's happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate."
Iran, through the country's parliamentary speaker, warned on Sunday that the US military and Israel would be "legitimate targets" if America used force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll.
It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult.
The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran's government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hardliners within Iran's security services to launch a bloody crackdown.
Protesters flooded the streets in the country's capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning.
Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
Fear pervades Iran's capital
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night.
By the Isha, or night-time prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown.
Police sent the public a text message that warned: "Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers."
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
"Dear parents, in view of the enemy's plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, … refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country," the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began on December 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $US1 ($1.49), as the country's economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program.
The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran's theocracy.
AP/ABC
