Iranian state media has claimed “terrorist agents” from the US and Israel have set fires and sparked violence on the streets.
A brief report – low down in the morning news bulletin on state television – represents the first official word on protests that have swept through the country.
It went on to say that the unrest has seen “people’s private cars, motorcycles, public places such as the metro, fire trucks and buses set on fire”, and there have been casualties.
The Iranian government has shut down the internet and international phone calls.
Demonstrations first began in Tehran last month – triggered by a sharp slide in the value of the rial currency – but have since spread to all 31 of the country’s provinces.
Figures from the US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency suggest 34 protesters and four security personnel have been killed, with 2,200 arrests.
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