Ten people have been killed overnight in anti-government protests sweeping Iran, according to state TV.
“In the events of last night, unfortunately a total of about 10 people were killed in several cities,” it said. At least 12 people have now died since protests began on Thursday.
On Monday, President Hassan Rouhani said the protests and criticism were an opportunity, not a threat.
He said the country should work together to fix its economic problems.
He said: “Our nation will deal with this minority who chant slogans against the law and people’s wishes, and insult the sanctities and values of the revolution.”
Mr Rouhani had previously said that citizens were free to protest, but not violently.
US President Donald Trump continued his war of words with Iran’s leaders on Monday, posting a tweet saying the “great Iranian people have been repressed for many years. They are hungry for food and freedom”.
Where has the violence happened?
Six of those killed died after shots were fired in the western town of Tuyserkan, 300km (185 miles) south-west of Tehran.
An official in the south-western town of Izeh said two people had died there. The other two people were reportedly killed in clashes in Dorud in Lorestan province.
Police also used tear gas and water cannon overnight to quell a rally in Tehran’s Engheleb Square.
Demonstrations were also reported in Kermanshah and Khorramabad in the west, Shahinshahr in the north-west and in the northern city of Zanjan.
State TV said armed protesters had tried to take over some police stations and military bases, but faced serious resistance from security forces.
The demonstrations, which erupted on Thursday in Iran’s second city of Mashhad, are the biggest show of dissent seen since the huge rallies of the Green Movement were brutally suppressed in 2009.
Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli-Larijani called for a crackdown on “rioters” and “vandals” on Monday, according to state television.
