At least 10 people have been killed overnight in anti-government protests sweeping Iran.
“In the events of last night, unfortunately a total of about 10 people were killed in several cities,” the Iranian state TV said.
At least 12 people have now died since protests began on Thursday.
President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday that the protests and criticism were an opportunity, not a threat.
He said the country should work together to fix its economic problems.
“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,” the BBC quoted President Rouhani as saying on the protests.
He previously said that citizens were free to protest, but not violently.
Nevertheless, protests continued overnight.
Police used tear gas and water cannon to quell a rally in Tehran’s Engheleb Square and demonstrations were reported in Kermanshah and Khorramabad in the west, Shahinshahr in the north west and the northern city of Zanjan.
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.
“Some individuals are exploiting the situation. This is wrong,” he said.