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Demonstrators rally in support of Iranian antigovernment protests in Stockholm, Sweden, over the weekend.
Demonstrators rally in support of Iranian antigovernment protests in Stockholm, Sweden, over the weekend.

Iran Live Blog: Foreign Minister Warns Foreigners Not To Foment Protests

Final Summary

-- A top Iranian judiciary official has said antigovernment protest leaders should be handed the harshest possible sentences, while President Hassan Rohani suggested demonstrations were driven by opposition to his ultraconservative rivals in the ruling elite.

-- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has also weighed in on the matter, warning other countries not to foment insecurity in his country, echoing the official position of the Iranian government that the protests were fomented by the intelligence services of foreign states-- including the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.

-- The United States has rejected Iran’s claims that Washington was behind the protests, which have led to the deaths of 22 people and the arrest of more than 1,700 others.

-- German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has said the European Union will invite Zarif for talks about the widespread antigovernment protests that have roiled the country since December 2

-- Lawmaker Tayebeh Siavashi told the semiofficial ILNA news agency on January 8 that a 22-year-old man who was arrested by the police had died in prison. He said that he was informed by authorities that the detainee "committed suicide in jail."

-- Various Iranian officials have said that hundreds of detainees have been released, some after agreeing to sign a pledge not to "reoffend," the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported.

-- In other news, a senior Iranian education official says Iran intends to ban English-language classes from primary schools amid warnings from Islamic leaders that the language has led to a "cultural invasion" from the West.

Live blog by Golnaz Esfandiari with Farangis Najibullah and Frud Bezhan

*NOTE: Times are stated according to local time in Tehran (GMT +3.5)

(AP) Britain's media regulator says it is considering an official letter received from Iran's embassy in London complaining about media coverage of the protests.

The regulator, known as Ofcom, said Friday the letter is being carefully evaluated.

Iranian state media say the government is complaining about what it calls a propaganda campaign orchestrated by U.K.-based Persian-language broadcasters.

The letter asserts that the media outlets violated U.K. and international media regulations and tried to incite protesters into using violent tactics.

Ofcom has a broad regulatory role in Britain, overseeing television, radio, high-speed internet and other sectors. One of its roles is to protect British consumers from harmful content.

Iranian lawmaker Parvaneh Salahshouri says about 90 students have been arrested in the past few days:

Cartoonist Mana Neyestani on the protests: "Khamenei's miracle."

(AP) A Russian deputy foreign minister says the upcoming U.N. Security Council session on Iran is an attempt by the United States to violate Iran's sovereignty.

Sergei Ryabkov made the comments Friday, several hours before the session is to convene.

The United States, which has voiced support for the anti-government protests that have swept Iran over the past week, called for the emergency session.

Ryabkov says "the United States continues to pursue a policy of open and implicit interference in the internal affairs of other states — doing it unabashedly, openly, under the slogan of caring for democracy and human rights, directly infringing on the sovereignty of other states,"

His comments were carried by the Interfax news agency

(AFP) Iranian ministers should be punished if they deliberately failed to censor online content by "trouble-makers and enemies", said the head of the country's cybercrime committee on Friday.

"The order to block all channels on encrypted messaging service Telegram, that in recent days incited the population to violence and trouble, was transmitted by judicial officials to the telecoms ministry a long time ago, but unfortunately nothing was done," said Abdolsamad Khoramabadi, according to local media.

"If it is proven that officials voluntarily refused to take the necessary measures to prevent the activities of trouble-makers and enemies, they must be punished," added Khoramabadi, who is also deputy to Iran's chief prosecutor.

Telegram and Instagram were blocked shortly after protests began on December 28, and officials also moved to shut down privacy software widely used to get round online restrictions.

Khoramabadi claimed there were 8,500 channels on Telegram with content that was against "national security, the values of Islam and public morale".

"The former minister and the current minister have resisted in the face of orders" to block these channels, he said.

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