Iran, which has blamed "foreign enemies" for protests that swept the country after the death of a woman in morality police custody, says it has arrested nine European nationals for their role in the unrest.
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The detention of citizens of Germany, Poland, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and other countries is likely to ratchet up tensions between Iran and Western countries over the death of Mahsa Amini.
The escalation comes as more casualties were reported. Nineteen people were killed after security forces fired on armed protesters attacking a police station, an official said.
Tehran has responded to international condemnation of the case by lashing out at its critics, accusing the United States of exploiting the unrest to try to destabilise Iran.
The nine unidentified people were detained "during the riots or while plotting in the background", the intelligence ministry said.
Amini, a 22-year-old from the Iranian Kurdish town of Saqez, was arrested this month in Tehran for "unsuitable attire" by the morality police who enforce the Islamic Republic's strict dress code for women.
Her death has caused the first big show of opposition on Iran's streets since authorities crushed protests against a rise in petrol prices in 2019. The demonstrations have quickly evolved into a popular revolt against the clerical establishment.
Demonstrations have spread from Amini's home town to all Iran's 31 provinces, with all layers of society, including ethnic and religious minorities, joining in.
Fearing an ethnic uprising and in a show of power, Iran fired missiles and drones at targets in neighbouring northern Iraq's Kurdish region this week after accusing Iranian Kurdish dissidents of being involved in the unrest.
Western rights groups say Iran, dominated by its Persian Shi'ite majority, discriminates against ethnic and religious minorities. Tehran denies this.
While analysts do not expect Iran's clerical rulers to fall, they are on the defensive and are struggling to work out how to defuse the fury.
Rights groups said dozens of activists, students and artists had been detained and the Committee to Protect Journalists said security forces had arrested at least 28 journalists.
A senior Iranian cleric called for tough action against protesters.
"Our security is our distinctive privilege. The Iranian people demand the harshest punishment for these barbaric rioters," said Mohammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari, a leader of prayers that are held on Fridays in Tehran before a large gathering.
Amnesty International said the government crackdown had led to the death of at least 52 people, with hundreds injured.
Despite the death toll, videos on social media showed demonstrators calling for the fall of the clerical establishment.
Heavy shooting could be heard on some videos as protesters chanted "Death to Khamenei", referring to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Human rights group Hengaw posted a video it said showed protests late on Friday in Saqez, home town of Amini. Young women were seen cheering as they took off and waved their headscarves in protest against Iran's hijab rules.
Australian Associated Press
