At least 35 people have been killed in more than a week of violent protests in Iran since the death of a young woman arrested by morality police, state media said on Saturday, AFP reported.

Mahsa Amini, 22, was arrested on September 13 in Tehran for “wearing inappropriate clothing” by police enforcing the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code.

She died in hospital three days later and her death led to protests in Iran, especially at night, in major Iranian cities, including the capital Tehran.

Iran’s armed forces warned on Friday that they would “fight the enemies” to ensure security and peace in the country.

“State television announced Friday evening that the death toll in the country’s latest unrest has risen to 35,” Borna News, which is affiliated with Iran’s sports ministry, reported.

Protests continued Friday night, including in Tehran:

At least 35 people died during the protests in Iran

On Thursday, state television said 17 people had died in the protests, although authorities denied any involvement in the violence.

In the Islamic Republic, women must cover their hair and are not allowed to wear short or tight clothing or torn jeans.

On Friday evening, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi again stated that law enforcement officers did not beat Mahsa Amini.

“Reports were received from the control authorities, witnesses were interviewed, video recordings were studied, medical reports were obtained and it was found that the young woman was not beaten,” Vahidi said on television.

According to him, the Iranian government is investigating “the cause of Mahsa Amini’s death (but) we have to wait for the final conclusion of the forensic doctor, which will take time.”

Vahidi also criticized “those who took an irresponsible position (…) and incited violence”, accusing them of “listening to the US, European countries and anti-revolutionary groups”.

Action taken by the US to help the demonstrators

The US Treasury Department on Friday issued guidelines to expand the range of internet services available to Iranians, despite US sanctions imposed on the country amid protests in Iran.

Officials said the measure would help Iranians gain access to tools that can be used to circumvent state monitoring and censorship, but would not fully prevent Tehran from using the media to suppress dissent, as it did on Wednesday by cutting off internet access for most citizens. .

“As brave Iranians take to the streets to protest the death of Mahsa Amini, the United States is increasing its support for the free flow of information for the Iranian people,” said US Assistant Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo.

“With these changes, we are helping the Iranian people to be better prepared to counter the government’s monitoring and censorship efforts,” he added.

Washington has long granted some exemptions to Internet-related sanctions against Iran, but Friday’s amendment seeks to modernize them, the Treasury Department said.

The new guidelines include social media and video conferencing platforms, and expand access to cloud services used to provide virtual private networks (VPNs) that provide users with online anonymity and other tools to prevent surveillance, according to another Treasury Department official.