U.S. President Donald Trump has said that Iran's leadership had called him seeking "to negotiate" after he repeatedly threatened to intervene militarily if Tehran killed protesters.

A channel of communication is open between Iran and U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for the Middle East despite the lack of diplomatic relations, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said Monday.

The Israeli army carried out several strikes on southern Lebanon on Sunday, killing one person, according to Lebanese authorities, with the Israeli military saying it targeted a Hezbollah militant and alleged infrastructure.

The strikes came days after the Lebanese military said it had completed disarming Hezbollah south of the Litani River, the first phase of a nationwide plan, though Israel has called those efforts insufficient.

At least 192 people have been killed in two weeks of protests against the government and economic strain in Iran, a rights group said on Sunday, in a sharp rise from an earlier death toll of 51.

Iranians took to the streets in new protests against the clerical authorities overnight despite an internet shutdown, as rights groups warned on Sunday that authorities were committing a "massacre" to quell the demonstrations.

Iran would strike U.S. military and shipping targets in the event of a new attack by the United States during an ongoing wave of protests, the parliament speaker said on Sunday.

Major Iranian cities were gripped overnight by new mass rallies denouncing the Islamic republic, as the son of the ousted shah urged protesters on Saturday to plan to seize city centers.

Venezuela was set to hold talks on Saturday with U.S. envoys in Caracas on restoring diplomatic ties, days after U.S. forces deposed Nicolas Maduro as its president.

South Africa on Saturday began naval drills with Russia, Iran and China, describing the manoeuvres off its coast as not merely a show of force but a vital response to rising maritime tensions.

EU countries approved Friday a huge but divisive trade deal with the South American bloc Mercosur, diplomats said, giving Brussels the green light to sign an accord championed by business groups but loathed by many European farmers.

A majority of the European Union's 27 nations voted in favour of the pact at an ambassadors' meeting in Brussels, despite opposition from France, Ireland and others concerned about its impact on the agricultural sector, several European diplomats told AFP.