Iran prison fire toll doubles as protest tensions surge

Eight inmates died in a fire that raged in Iran's Evin prison, the judiciary said Monday, doubling the official toll from a blaze that has further stoked tensions one month into protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini.

Authorities blamed the fire in the Tehran jail late Saturday on "riots and clashes" among prisoners, but human rights groups said they doubted the official version of events and feared the real toll could be higher.

The judiciary authority's website Mizan Online said Monday that four inmates injured in the fire had died in hospital, after reporting the previous day an initial toll of four dead from smoke inhalation.

Gunshots and explosions were heard during the dramatic blaze from inside the complex, according to social media footage, and state media later broadcast images of parts of the prison gutted by the flames.

Iranian authorities have accused "thugs" of torching a prison clothing depot and reported clashes between prisoners, and then between inmates and guards who intervened to put an end to the violence.

Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said Monday that the fire was "a crime committed by a few elements linked to the enemy".

But Norway-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) said it "rejects" the official account of clashes between non-political prisoners unrelated to the protests, citing the "long history of concealing facts" in the Islamic republic.

"The number of those killed in Evin Prison is probably higher than the official count," it added.

Activists noted further confusion when state television announced Sunday that 40 people had been killed in the prison, only to correct this back to the initial toll of four just minutes later.

The fire came after four...