The death toll from the crackdown on protests in Iran has risen to 36, French news agency AFP reported. Iranians staged demonstrations across the country to protest the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last week after she was arrested for wearing “inappropriate clothing.”

In turn, the Iranian army reaffirmed that it “will confront enemies to ensure security and peace in the country,” with protests escalating following the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, while she was detained by “moral police.”

In a statement, he pointed out that “these desperate actions are part of the enemy’s malicious strategy to weaken the Islamic regime,” explaining that “it will counter the enemy’s various conspiracies.” For their part, Iranian media reported that 280 people were arrested during Thursday’s protests.

The death of Mahsa Amini drew strong condemnation in several countries and international non-governmental organizations, which also criticized the suppression of protest demonstrations, which raised slogans calling for freedom and the fall of the regime. An Iranian woman was arrested for wearing “obscene clothes”. Activists said she was hit on the head, but Iranian authorities denied this and said they had launched an investigation into the incident.