Khamenei considers the protests a security issue and conflict over the death toll

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has stressed that the protests in the country are a matter of security and not of the people, while nations have expressed concern about reports of a large number of deaths.

"Friends and enemies must know that we have confronted the enemy militarily, politically and security," Khamenei said in comments posted on his website.

"This is not the work of the people, this is the act of the wicked," he said, referring to the protests.

Since last Friday, there have been angry protests against the government's decision to raise gasoline prices.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed "concern" over reports that dozens of people were killed during demonstrations in Iran,

"We are deeply concerned by alleged violations of international norms and standards on the use of force in dispersing demonstrations, including the firing of live bullets at demonstrators," said UNHCR spokesman Robert Colville.

"According to credible reports, at least 106 protesters were killed in 21 cities," Amnesty International said.

"The true death toll may be much higher, with some reports indicating that some 200 demonstrators were killed."

The figures appear to be far from those reported by the Iranian media, where only nine people have been killed since the protests broke out last Friday.

The dead included four protesters, three members of the Revolutionary Guards and two policemen, according to several state media.

The Iranian authorities had earlier announced the killing of two security men and a demonstrator
One.

News agencies could not confirm the death toll because the Internet was still widely cut.

The protests are continuing
For the fourth consecutive day, protests continued in various Iranian cities against the government's decision to raise fuel prices.

Agence France-Presse reported that its journalists saw two burning gas stations as well as a police station in western Tehran.

She said journalists were prevented from filming at a time when hundreds of riot police were guarding the squares with armored vehicles and water cannons.

State television broadcast new scenes of the unrest, which he said were in the southwestern city of Andemesh. The clips showed a man with a machine gun firing from him several times, while dozens of young men threw stones.

On the other hand, pro-government demonstrations were announced Tuesday in various cities of the country.

On the other hand, the newspaper "Kayhan" close to the Conservatives that many of the leaders of the protests could face the death penalty, "where they admitted that they had received instructions, funding and weapons from abroad."