Iranian MP warns of greater unrest, urging government to address grievances

DUBAI, Jan 13 - An Iranian parliamentarian said on Tuesday the government will face even bigger protests unless it addresses people's grievances, after more than two weeks of nationwide demonstrations that have challenged the legitimacy of the country's clerical rulers.

The government has responded to the wave of unrest over dire economic conditions with a crackdown that a rights group says has killed hundreds and led to the arrest of thousands.

"We should not forget one point: people have dissatisfactions and officials in government and parliament needs to solve them, otherwise the same events will occur with greater intensity," Mohammadreza Sabaghian, who represents several counties in central Yazd province, said during a parliamentary session.

TRUMP ANNOUNCES TARIFFS ON COUNTRIES TRADING WITH IRAN

Adding to the pressure on Iran as authorities face one of the biggest challenges since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, President Donald Trump announced late on Monday that exports to the U.S. from any country doing business with Iran - a major oil exporter - will be subject to a new tariff of 25%.

Tehran has not yet responded publicly to this move, but it was swiftly criticized by China, the main buyer of Iranian oil.

Iranian authorities said on Monday they were keeping communication channels with Washington open as Trump considered how to respond to Iran's crackdown, including threatening possible military action.

"We have the duty to do dialogue and we will certainly do so," government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani told a news conference on Tuesday.

Mohajerani added that President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered the creation of workshops made up of sociologists to understand the reasons behind youth anger.

"The government sees defenders (security forces) and protesters as its children. To the best of our abilities, we have tried and will try to listen to their voices even if some have tried to confiscate (hijack) such protests.”

The protests began on December 28 over the fall in value of the local currency and have grown into wider demonstrations over dire economic hardships and defiant calls for the fall of the deeply entrenched clerical establishment.

There are no signs of splits in the Shi'ite clerical leadership, military or security forces. The demonstrators have no clear central leadership and the opposition is fragmented.

CHINA CRITICIZES TRUMP'S TARIFF ANNOUNCEMENT

In a social media post late on Monday announcing new tariffs, Trump said that: "Effective immediately, any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America".

Iran, already under heavy U.S. sanctions, exports much of its oil to China, with Turkey, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and India among its other top trading partners.

The Chinese embassy in Washington criticized Trump's approach, saying China will take "all necessary measures" to safeguard its interests and opposed "any illicit unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction."

There was no official documentation from the White House of the new tariff policy on its website, nor information about the legal authority Trump would use to impose the tariffs. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York declined to comment.

DEATHS AND ARRESTS IN PROTESTS

U.S.-based rights group HRANA said that by late Monday it had verified the deaths of 646 people, including 505 protesters, 113 military and security personnel and seven bystanders, and was investigating 579 more reported deaths.

Since the protests began, 10,721 people have been arrested, the group said. Reuters was unable to confirm the figures independently.

HRANA said it received reports and videos on Monday from Tehran's Behesht Zahra Cemetery where family members of victims "gathered at burial sites and chanted protest slogans".

Iran, which has not given an official death toll from the protests, blames the bloodshed on U.S. interference and what it calls Israeli- and U.S.-backed terrorists. State-run media has focused attention on the deaths of security forces.

TRUMP FAVOURS DIPLOMACY, WHITE HOUSE SAYS

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday that while airstrikes were one of many alternatives open to Trump, "diplomacy is always the first option for the president".

"What you're hearing publicly from the Iranian regime is quite different from the messages the administration is receiving privately, and I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages," she said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran was studying ideas proposed by Washington, though these were "incompatible" with U.S. threats.

"Communications between (U.S. special envoy Steve) Witkoff and me continued before and after the protests and are still ongoing," he told Al Jazeera on Monday.

(Reporting by Dubai newsroomWriting by Michael GeorgyEditing by Frances Kerry)