Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday said "rioters" should not be allowed to disrupt society, in his first remarks after three nights of intensified protests against the country's authorities.
Protests in Iran initially sparked by anger over the rising cost of living have lasted two weeks, becoming a movement against the theocratic system in place since the 1979 revolution.
The death toll in the crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran spiked Sunday to at least 538 people, activists said. Over 10,600 people have been detained, said the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
Of those killed, 490 are protesters and 48 are members of the security forces, it said, warning the toll is likely to go up.
The Iranian government has not offered any overall casualty figures for the demonstrations.
Pezeshkian in an interview with state TV on Sunday said "protesting is the people's right", but echoed authorities in drawing a line between outcry over Iran's dire economy and "rioters" they allege are backed by the United States and Israel.
"The people (of Iran) should not allow rioters to disrupt society. The people should believe that we (the government) want to establish justice," he told state broadcaster IRIB.
Pezeshkian called on Iranians to "come together and not let these people riot" on the streets.
"If people have a concern we will hear them, it is our duty to hear them and solve their problems. However, our highest duty is to not allow rioters to come and disrupt the society," he said.
Large crowds have gathered across the country in recent days, chanting anti-government slogans despite an internet blackout that rights groups have warned is being used to obscure a deadly crackdown by security forces.
State TV has aired images of buildings, including a mosque on fire, with authorities saying members of the security forces have been killed.
Pezeshkian accused the United States and Israel of "trying to escalate this unrest with regard to the economic discussion and solutions we are working on".
"They have taken some people here inside and abroad and trained them. They brought terrorists in from abroad into the country," he said, calling those who had set the mosque on fire "not human".
US President Donald Trump has said his country "stands ready to help" demonstrators and threatened new military action against Iranian authorities "if they start killing people".
