The National:

Fatima Al Mahmoud

Iranian police clashed with protesters on the 10th day of unrest in Tehran, as the death toll rose to at least 36, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Strikes continued in Tehran’s main market, the Grand Bazaar, on Tuesday, where videos showed chaotic scenes. Security forces fired tear gas into groups of demonstrators as shopkeepers shut their stores and stage a sit-in.

The anger also spilt on to the streets in hundreds of cities across Iran on Tuesday, where protests were met live rounds and tear gas, according to activists.

Other videos posted on social media appeared to show security forces entering Sina Hospital in Hasanabad on Tuesday and firing tear gas inside the medical compound, where injured protesters had been receiving treatment. This was the second such recorded incident after security forces stormed Imam Khomeini Hospital in the western city of Ilam on Sunday, fuelling public anger and prompting President Masoud Pezeshkian to order an investigation.

Iran's Ministry of Health issued a statement saying the attack on Sina Hospital was under review and would be pursued “within the framework of the law”.

At least 36 people have been confirmed killed during the past 10 days of protests, according to HRANA. Among them were four under the age of 18, as well as two members of security and law enforcement forces, it said.

The rights group, which relies on an activist network in Iran, has also recorded dozens of cases of injuries among protesters, mostly caused by pellet and plastic bullets, and at least 2,076 arrests.

The unrest began last week when the Iranian rial fell to a record low against the US dollar. Authorities have attempted a dual approach to the protests – acknowledging the economic crisis and offering dialogue with demonstrators, while meeting more forceful displays of dissent with violence and accusing networks linked to foreign powers of fuelling the protests.

Iran’s army chief warned on Wednesday that his country would respond in 'full force' to any external acts of aggression, after US President Donald Trump said Iran would be “hit very hard” if more protesters die.

“I can say with confidence that today the readiness of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran is far greater than it was before the 12-day war,” said Maj Gen Amir Hatami.

The chief commander of the Iranian army said Iran “will cut off the hand” of any aggressor. “The Islamic Republic of Iran considers the escalation of hostile rhetoric against the Iranian nation a threat and will not tolerate its continuation without responding,” he added, according to the Fars news agency.

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