Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi delivered a speech on Monday to the foreign ambassadors and diplomatic representatives as well as international organizations based in Tehran on the recent developments. He noted:   “My intention of holding this session is to talk about the developments in the squares and streets of different Iranian cities, and share our findings with you.   We will celebrate the 47th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in weeks and it shows the tortuous path the Iranian nation has passed during these years to protect its independence and dignity and at the same time encounter the attempts by foreign powers to wield influence in Iran.   From December 28, we witnessed some protests, largely in the bazaar, by the unions and those who are active in economic fields. Under the Iranian Constitution all Iranian citizens are entitled to express their protests in a peaceful manner.   The rallies were completely peaceful meant to express their protests. From December 28 to 30, at the first stage, we had peaceful protests, mostly at the bazaar by the unions, and the government immediately initiated talks with their representatives.   We hope other countries do not make any miscalculations. We consider the incidents during the three days as continuation of the 12-day war, which was designed from abroad to stage riots inside Iran, but our people confronted it with their solidarity.   We had three days of peaceful protests, largely at the market by the unions. The government immediately started talks with the representatives of the unions. The president met with the head of the Chamber of Commerce and a number of economic activists. The economic ministers held meetings, heard their demands, and planned and executed some measures and economic reforms. Since the protests were staged with peaceful means to express objections, the unions and economic activists raised their problems and the government heard them out. So, at the first stage, the protests ebbed away and were replaced by talks.   But at the second stage, new figures stepped into the protests. In this stage, the protests moved towards violence. Many countries, including in the West and even the US, have experienced such protests. Our security forces dealt with them with complete restraint and tried to prevent violence. From January 1 to 7, we faced such rallies which involved some degree of violence, which was of course tolerable to us.   From January 8 to 10, we saw terrorist elements and armed groups and weapons enterer the stage of the protests. The weapons were distributed among the protesters and it was completely obvious that a new plot had been designed to knock the protests off course and lead them towards violence and bloodshed.   Those elements shot at police and security forces. We realized they were shooting not only at the police, but also ordinary civilians and their sole goal was to increase the number of the fatalities, because the US president had announced in case the people were confronted, he would attack Iran, which is an open intervention in another country’s internal affairs.   Therefore, the elements which were seeking riots opted for increasing the number of the dead, hoping the US would step in. We have recorded audio files, saying, “Shoot towards the protesters; if possible shoot the police, if not, shoot the ordinary people; the boy or girl who is in front of you; the only thing that matters is to increase the number of the dead and shed more blood.”   We have plenty of documents, showing the US and Israel were involved in the terrorist move. The Israeli media are rife with claims that they are planning operations inside Iran. The former head of the CIA, Mike Pompeo posted a tweet congratulating the New Year to the people on the streets and the Mossad agents standing next to them, and this is a clear acknowledgement that the Mossad agents speak Farsi and are on Iran’s streets. We will pursue this matter and hold those who caused the hike in the fatalities through their speech accountable and they should claim responsibility.   These are the same people who turned a blind eye to the 70 thousand of people killed in Gaza, refused to condemn the US and Israeli attacks on Iran and now shed crocodile tears for the terrorists. We recognize the rights of any protester in Iran, but no country would tolerate riots, setting public property ablaze, terrorists, and targeting civilians or armed forces. I hope the countries that adopted wrong stances, will understand the realities on the ground. Based on the latest data, our people want the riots to end and be dealt with. Only 30 percent believe the riots stem from economic hardships and 70 percent say they are rooted abroad.   We demand compensation for our people’s blood and will pursue it both in international and domestic courts. Currently, our security forces are in control of the situation and we hope foreign countries will not make any miscalculation. We consider the incidents during the three days as continuation of the 12-day war, which was designed from abroad to stage riots inside Iran, but our people confronted it with their unity. This time, they made an attempt to start the terrorist operation inside the country, in the hope of setting the stage for foreign intervention; and it was another miscalculation. Presently, the security forces are in control of all cities.   The Iranian people will gather around the Islamic Republic of Iran’s flag. The internet was cut off to provide security for you and the people and our colleagues are working on it, talking with security institutions to restore the internet at embassies so the procedures would become normal.   Iran is great and mighty and has always been great and mighty. It tolerates peaceful protests that are staged legally and as you witnessed, the government held talks with them and made some reforms following the talks. But there are security concerns, and as you agree, the dangers threaten you as well, so certain restrictions will continue until we make ascertain there are no risks.   Iran is not after war, but is prepared for war. We do not want war, but we are fully prepared for war and even more prepared than the previous 12-day war. The best method for war, is being prepared for war so the enemy would not fall into miscalculation. We are also ready for talks, but fair and honest talks on equal footing and with mutual respect based on mutual interests; serious and real talk, not based on diktats, as some countries are used to.”