Iran has moved to restrict social media networks that have been used to organise four days of anti-establishment protests.
The “temporary” restrictions on the apps Telegram and Instagram were imposed to “maintain tranquillity”, state news agency Irib reports.
The protests have been the biggest show of dissent since huge rallies in 2009.
President Hassan Rouhani has said Iranians have the right to protest, but not cause disorder.
The protests began in the north-east as an outcry against economic hardship and rising prices, but turned political in many places, with slogans chanted against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mr Rouhani and Iran’s interventionist foreign policy in the region.
In his first public comments since the demonstrations broke out, the Iranian president, speaking at a cabinet meeting, said that citizens were “completely free to make criticism and even protests”.
But he added that the government would not tolerate any action that created “social disorder”, the Iranian Students News Agency reported.
After violence flared in many places on Saturday, it is unclear how many demonstrations are occurring on Sunday. Small crowds have gathered in Tehran and police have used water cannon to disperse protesters at a major intersection – as captured in a video obtained by BBC Persian.
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Source: BBC