IRANIAN authorities have accused foreign media of trying to turn the country into “another Syria” by reporting on labour disputes and protests that continue to spread across the country.

At a press conference today Interior Ministry spokesman Hossein Zolfaghari said that calls for protests had trebled in the country compared to last year.

He said that 519 such calls were made in the first five months of the last Persian year, but that in the same period this year there had been 1,702 – a 227 per cent increase.

Mr Zolfaghari cited intelligence reports which claimed that many social-media posts and hashtags came from outside of the country.

“Of course, it is possible that elements inside the country re-post these calls,” he added.

“In 2018, events that took place in the country led to an increase in crises. The roots of the crisis are related to economic and political issues and the roots of some issues come from abroad,” he said

The minister hit out at media outside Iran reporting on strikes and protests, accusing them of “trying to turn Iran into another Syria.”

Iranian authorities fear a new round of protests, which receded when the country was hit by the coronavirus and restrictions were placed on gatherings.

At least 1,500 people were killed by regime forces after huge anti-government protests erupted in November 2019 after a trebling of oil prices amid a deepening economic crisis and a fall in the value of the Rial.

Workers from the Haft Tappeh sugarcane factory remain on strike in a dispute over unpaid wages, with calls being made for the renationalisation of the company.

As many as 10,000 oil workers stopped work on at least 30 sites in July and August.