Paris (AFP) — Iran will offer no leniency to “rioters,” though the public has a right to demonstrate, the head of the country’s judiciary said on Monday, following more than a week of sometimes-deadly protests.

The remarks came after United States President Donald Trump warned Iran would “get hit very hard by the United States” if the authorities killed more demonstrators.

Protests erupted on 28 December when shopkeepers in capital Tehran staged a strike over high prices and economic stagnation. They have since spread to other cities and expanded to include political demands.

“I instruct the attorney general and prosecutors across the country to act in accordance with the law and with resolve against the rioters and those who support them... and to show no leniency or indulgence,” Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said, according to the judiciary’s Mizan News Agency.

He went on to add that Iran “listens to the protesters and their criticism, and distinguishes between them and rioters.”

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Iran to respect the demonstrators’ right to peaceful protest, according to his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, underscoring “the need to prevent further casualties.”

“All individuals must be allowed to protest peacefully and express their grievances,” he said.

Demonstrations have taken place in 23 of Iran’s 31 provinces and affected, to varying degrees, at least 45 different cities, most of them small or medium-sized and concentrated in the west, according to an AFP tally based on official statements and media reports.

At least 12 people have been killed since 30 December in localized clashes, including members of the security forces, according to official announcements.

According to Mizan, police intelligence officers in the capital have identified a suspected rioter hideout and seized “weapons, ammunition, and materials for making improvised explosive devices.”

Since the protests began, officials have publicly struck a conciliatory tone when it comes to protesters’ economic demands, while vowing to take a hard line against any chaos or destabilization.

Iran’s economy has been hit hard by tough international sanctions, with the national currency, the rial, losing more than a third of its value against the US dollar over the past year and inflation in double digits.

On Sunday, the government announced a monthly allowance for every citizen to alleviate economic pressure, equivalent to around 3.5 percent of the average monthly wage.