Tehran: Amid increase in protests across Iran, President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday said that rioters are trying to destroy the entire society. The latest comments reflected a hardline tone from the president, who has so far been unable to assure the public amid rising anger in the country.

The protests have been going on across several parts of the country amid a depleting economy and a historic fall of Iranian currency against the dollar. The US has also put its weight behind protesters and has issued a warning to the ruling regime in the country.

‘We should sit with rioters’

"People have concerns; we should sit with them, and if it is our duty, we should resolve their concerns,” Pezeshkian said. "But the higher duty is not to allow a group of rioters to come and destroy the entire society.” Iranian state television aired an interview with the president on Sunday, news agency Associated Press reported.

US and Israel trying to destabilize the country: Iran

Accusing the US and Israel of trying to destabilize the country, he added, "The US and Israel are sitting there, giving instructions to these people, telling them: go ahead, we are backing you. The same ones who struck this country and killed our young people and our children are now giving them orders, telling them: you do this work, we are with you."

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192 people lost their lives in riots

As per reports, a total of 192 people have lost their lives in the protests. Since the beginning of the ongoing protests, these protesters continued their stir for several nights across cities, earning global attention. Meanwhile, describing the protests as ‘a struggle for freedom’, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that his country supports the Iranian people and wishes them success. "We think they deserve freedom… We don’t have any hostility with the people of Iran," he added.