Iran's President, Masoud Pezeshkian, addressed protesters for the first time and gave an interview on the economic situation to national media outlets affiliated with the regime.
During the interview, he said that "terrorists" linked to foreign powers were killing people, burning mosques and attacking public property.
"Iran's enemies were seeking to sow chaos and disorder by ordering riots," he said.
But he also used a conciliatory tone, saying that the Iranian leadership was ready to listen to its people.
The protests initially erupted due to rising inflation and the country's difficult economic situation.
His government was determined to solve the people's economic problems, according to Pezeshkian, while calling on citizens to distance themselves from "rebels and terrorists."
Pezeshkian belongs to the relatively moderate camp within Iranian politics, but was sufficiently connected to conservative and clerical leaders that he was allowed to run in the presidential election.
However, he is not allied with the ultra-conservative supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
As president, Pezeshkian holds some power within Iran's complex system of governance, but his decisions can be overturned by Khamenei. /Telegraph/
