Tehran also increasingly cut back its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, as tensions increased over its nuclear program in recent years. The IAEA’s director-general has warned Iran could build as many as 10 nuclear bombs, should it decide to weaponize its program.

The first comments by 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei come as violence surrounding the demonstrations sparked by Iran's ailing economy has killed at least 10 people.

Galloping inflation and a currency crisis have provoked demonstrations across the country. Protests fueled by deepening economic hardship have swept Iran for more than a week, as soaring inflation has driven frustrated traders and university students into the streets of major cities, including the capital, Tehran.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed not to yield after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to come to the aid of protesters, as rights groups reported a sharp rise in arrests following days of unrest sparked by soaring inflation.

The deaths may mark the start of a heavier-handed response by Iran's theocracy over the demonstrations, which have slowed in Tehran but expanded elsewhere.

Anti-regime protests entered a fifth day as demonstrations spread across Tehran and other cities, with reports of deaths emerging amid escalating nationwide unrest.

Both the semi-official Fars news agency and human rights group, Hengaw, said two people had died during clashes between protesters and security forces in the city of Lordegan, in south-western Iran. Three more people were killed in Azna and another in Kouhdasht, Fars reported, all in the west of the country.

Iran is experiencing a countrywide shutdown triggered by intensifying protests and a deepening political and economic crisis. This government-ordered shutdown has impacted businesses, educational institutions,