The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, affirmed that the judiciary must deal firmly with those causing insecurity in the country.

Larijani noted that the recent protests were not connected to the economic demands of the people, but that a "organized disruptive entity" intervened and stood behind the acts of violence.

He added that these protests were accompanied by practices that closely resembled the tactics of terrorist groups such as the Islamic State (ISIS).

Larijani’s remarks come at a time when Iran has been witnessing ongoing protests for several weeks, with human rights warnings about rising violence and excessive use of force against demonstrators.

Larijani during his visit to the tomb of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah (Hossam Chebaro)

Iran continues to live in digital isolation after authorities cut off the internet for the third day in a row, according to the non-governmental organization NetBlocks, which has monitored the outage for more than 72 hours.

Tehran witnessed a new demonstration on Saturday night, amid widespread protests that began two weeks ago and expanded noticeably since last Thursday.

Human rights concerns are growing over a tightening government crackdown, while U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States was ready to provide assistance, which further complicates the internal situation in Iran.