Shafaq News / Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said the death of Mahsa Amini "deeply broke my heart".
Speaking at a military ceremony on Monday, Mr Khamenei described the 22-year-old woman's death in custody as a "bitter incident".
Ms Amini died after being arrested by Iran's morality police for allegedly breaking the country's strict Islamic dress code. Her family have claimed she was tortured.
After some of the biggest protests in years broke out as a result, the supreme leader blamed "the United States and the Zionist regime".
He said they were "planned" by people who are "not ordinary Iranians", adding that the security forces policing them have faced "injustice".
"The duty of our security forces, including police, is to ensure the safety of the Iranian nation.The ones who attack
the police are leaving Iranian citizens defenceless against thugs, robbers and extortionists," he said.
Protesters have taken to the streets across 31 Iranian provinces - and other countries including Turkey, Lebanon and France - in defiance of the Islamic republic's treatment of women.
