A senior commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards has urged the country's judiciary to mete out harsh sentences to what he described as "mercenaries" involved in protests against a fuel price hike last week, the judiciary's Mizan news site reported.
"We caught all the mercenaries who openly confessed they were doing mercenary work for America and, God willing, the judicial system of the country will give them maximum punishments," Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, a deputy Guards commander, was quoted as saying.
Iran has blamed "thugs" linked to exiles and foreign foes - the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia - for stirring up unrest which has led to some of the worst violence in a decade.