Iran blames outsiders for inciting unrest

Tehran : Iran's Interior Ministry has blamed foreign sources for the anti-government unrest in the country, affecting its economic situation, Press TV reported on Monday.

"Bulk of the protest rallies, under the guise of protests against economic woes, in Iran over the past month were originated from outside the country," Xinhua quoted Interior Ministry spokesman Salman Samani as saying.

"Only a handful of people were influenced by such propaganda and attended the unlawful protests in a few cities," he added.

"The main elements provoking unrest in Iran are mostly individuals or groups who do not care about the economic problems and only seek to foment chaos by taking advantage of problems like price hikes and livelihood issues," Samani said.

The Iranian spokesman also said that efforts were underway to control the protests and the situation would be handled with "minimum tensions and through dialogue".

Protests were reportedly held in the Iranian cities of Shiraz, Isfahan, Ahvaz and Karaj over the past few days against worsening economic conditions. The protests have been largely described as peaceful without any major instance of violence.