Shafaq News– Tehran

Iran summoned the ambassadors of the UK, Germany, Italy, and France on Monday over official statements expressing support for protesters, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

According to Tasnim, Foreign Ministry officials screened footage they described as showing violence by rioters and asked the envoys to relay the material to their respective foreign ministers. They also called for the withdrawal of statements backing the demonstrations.

The governments of the four countries have yet to comment publicly on the summons.

The move comes amid nationwide unrest that erupted on December 28 after the Iranian rial fell to a record low of about 1.45 million per US dollar, driving sharp increases in food prices and inflation and triggering demonstrations that later spread across the country.

Iranian authorities have not released official casualty or arrest figures. However, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported it had verified 544 deaths —496 protesters and 48 members of the security forces— and 10,681 arrests since the unrest began.

Tehran rejected descriptions of the events as protests, portraying them instead as a “terrorist war against Iran,” and accused the United States and Israel of directing efforts to destabilize the country. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the early demonstrations —led by traders— as “peaceful and constitutionally legitimate,” adding that the situation escalated only after armed groups infiltrated rallies and turned them violent.

Read more: Iran’s protests between economic crisis and political contestation