UK summons top Iran diplomat over protest crackdown

Iran's top diplomat in the UK has been summoned to the Foreign Office over Tehran's crackdown on protests sweeping the country.

Demonstrations in Iran were sparked by the death in custody of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the country's morality police.

But reports say as many as 133 people have been killed by security forces as they clamp down on unrest.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the violence was "truly shocking".

"Today we have made our view clear to the Iranian authorities - instead of blaming external actors for the unrest, they should take responsibility for their actions and listen to the concerns of their people," Mr Cleverly said.

"We will continue to work with our partners to hold the Iranian authorities to account for their flagrant human-rights violations."

Summoning a diplomat is a tool that a host country has when it wants to make its anger felt to another country.

The foreign secretary said he had instructed the Foreign Office to call in Mehdi Hosseini Matin, who as Iran's Chargé d'Affaires is its most senior diplomat in the UK.

Mahsa Amini, 22, fell into a coma hours after being detained by morality police on 13 September in Tehran for allegedly breaking the strict law requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf. She died three days later.

Her family has alleged that officers beat her head with a baton and banged her head against one of their vehicles. The police have said there is no evidence of any mistreatment and that she suffered "sudden heart failure".

Women have led the protests that began after Ms Amini's funeral, waving their headscarves in the air or setting them on fire to chants of "Woman, life, freedom" and "Death to the dictator" - a reference to Ayatollah Khamenei.

Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based group, said on Sunday that at least 133 people had been killed by security forces so far. They include 41 protesters said to have died in the city of Zahedan on Friday.

State media have reported that more than 40 people have been killed, including security personnel.