Tehran announced the arrest of British citizens, and accused Western countries of being involved in the recent riots, while London announced that it was seeking more information from the Iranian authorities.
In response to a question from a journalist to comment on Tehran's announcement yesterday, Sunday, of the arrest of 7 people linked to Britain, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said, "Some countries - especially the one you mentioned - played a non-constructive role with regard to the recent developments in Iran."
"Her role was very destructive and incited extremism and riots," Kanaani added during his weekly press conference.
He said that his country had informed the detainees' government of their "crimes," adding that it had allowed them to communicate with their families during the Christmas holidays for "humanitarian reasons."
Kanaani explained that "during the recent riots, a number of European citizens were arrested, and they have well-known and clear files that were handed over to their countries."
He stressed that "the role of citizens of a number of countries - especially Western European countries - is quite clear in the recent riots."
And the Revolutionary Guards in Kerman province (south) announced in a statement yesterday, Sunday, the targeting of "a terrorist network that is a British agent and is involved in provoking the recent riots."
The statement added that its "seven main elements" were arrested, including "dual nationals who were about to flee the country, but were caught by the security forces of the Revolutionary Guards."
The British Foreign Office said it was seeking more information from the Iranian authorities about reports of the detention of Iranian citizens of British nationality.
Since last September 16, Iran has been witnessing protests following the death of the young woman, Mahsa Amini, 3 days after she was arrested by the morality police for not adhering to the dress code.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (Hrana) reported that 507 protesters were killed in the unrest until Sunday, including 69 minors, and that 66 members of the security forces were also killed, while approximately 185,016 protesters were arrested.