Iranian presidential election protests

Iran said on Jan. 14 it had arrested people accused of a role in shooting down a Ukrainian airliner and had also detained 30 people involved in protests that have swept the nation for four days since the military belatedly admitted its error.

Reports are coming out of Tehran that ex-Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been arrested for contributing to widespread unrest in the country that has seen at least 22 killed.

The Iranian state is “strong enough to crush” the recent wave of protests across the country, according to a former Turkish ambassador to Tehran.

Ten people were killed during street protests in Iran on Sunday, state television said on Monday, Reuters reported. 

The nationwide protests have drawn in tens of thousands of people and represent the boldest challenge to Iran's leadership since pro-reform unrest in 2009. Calls for more demonstrations on Monday raise the possibility of prolonged instability.

Two people have died in the city of Dorud in western Iran during the protests yesterday, the governor of the province of Lorestan said, quoted by world news agencies. But in his words, protesters were not shot by security forces who were not shooting at demonstrators, but from "foreign agents".