The Iranian Foreign Minister pointed to an attempt by Israel and the United States to destabilize the situation in the country.

The Israeli and US authorities are trying to use the unrest in Iran for their own purposes, in order to achieve through destabilization what they could not do through military action. This was announced on January 12 by the head of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Abbas Araqchi.

"The United States and Israel are trying to achieve through the destabilization of the situation in Iran what they could not achieve through the war. There are those who are trying to draw the United States into a war [with Iran] in order to realize Israel's interests," he said in an interview with Al-Jazeera.

The minister stressed that Tehran would not allow terrorist groups supported from the outside to continue their activities.

Araqchi also pointed out that Tehran is ready to hold talks on the nuclear program, provided there are no threats against it.

"We are ready to sit down at the negotiating table on the nuclear program, provided that we are not threatened or dictated anything. The ideas and threats proposed by Washington against our country are incompatible," the Foreign Minister said.

There have been mass protests in Iran. What you need to know

Earlier on January 12, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu held a telephone conversation with Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Ali Larijani, during which he condemned the attempt of other countries to interfere in the internal affairs of the Islamic Republic.

At a meeting with ambassadors of other states, Araqchi said that the Iranian authorities had taken control of the situation with mass protests in the country. According to him, the demonstrations were "instigated and incited" by foreign elements and the security forces will "hunt down" the perpetrators. Against the background of what is happening, the ambassadors of Germany, Great Britain and France were summoned to the department.

It was also noted that the death toll from the protests in Iran rose to 538, including 490 protesters and 48 security personnel. The country's President, Masoud Peseshkian, called on Iranians to express disagreement with opponents of state policy, as instigators can destroy the entire society.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.