The Guards of Iran warn the cleric about "agitating" in the restive southeast.

DUBAI, Oct. 22 (Reuters) - After a Sunni cleric claimed that officials, including the supreme leader, were to blame for dozens of deaths in the city of Zahedan last month, Iran's Revolutionary Guards accused him of agitating against the Islamic Republic and warned that it could cost him a lot.

On the official news site of the Reva During his sermon on Friday, Zahedan's most prominent Sunni cleric, Molavi Abdolhamid, stated that officials responsible for the Sept. 30 murders included Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, head of the Shi'ite-dominated state.

lutionary Guards, Sepah News, a brief statement read: Mr. Abdolhamid, your efforts to persuade young people to oppose the cherished Islamic Republic of Iran could cost you a lot of money. The final warning is here!"

Even though the protests do not appear to be getting any closer to overthrowing the government, unrest has spread across the entire country, including areas where ethnic minorities have long-standing complaints to make about the government.

Advertisement Continue reading Molavi Abdolhamid, the most prominent Sunni cleric in Zahedan, said in his sermon on Friday that officials responsible for the murders on Sept. 30 included Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the head of the Shi'ite-dominated state.

On the official news site of the Revolutionary Guards, Sepah News, a brief statement read: Mr. Abdolhamid, your efforts to persuade young people to oppose the cherished Islamic Republic of Iran could cost you a lot of money. The final warning is here!"

Even though the protests do not appear to be getting any closer to overthrowing the government, unrest has spread across the entire country, including areas where ethnic minorities have long-standing complaints to make about the government.

Advertisement Continue reading Zahedan is the provincial capital of the Sistan-Baluchistan province in southeastern Iran, located at the border with Pakistan and Afghanistan and is home to the Baluch ethnic minority. Scroll to the next section to continue reading.

At the time of the Sept. 30 violence, state media reported that "unidentified armed individuals" opened fire on a police station, which prompted security personnel to fire back.

Five Revolutionary Guards and Basij volunteer militia members, according to the group, were killed in the Sept. 30 violence. A Baluchi militant group was cited by authorities. There were no roles assigned by that group or any other faction.

The official news agency IRNA reported on Saturday that Majid Mir Ahmadi, deputy interior minister for security, said that calm had returned after protests erupted once more in Zahedan on Friday.

He stated that 150 "thugs attacked public property and even Sunni shops."

According to the official news agency IRNA on Friday, provincial police chief Ahmad Taheri said that after protesters threw rocks and attacked banks in the city, police arrested at least 57 people who were described as "rioters."

After Friday prayers, according to state television, up to 300 protesters marched through the city. It showed businesses with broken windows, including banks.

The Sunni cleric Abdolhamid said that bullets had been fired at people's heads and chests during the Sept. 30 massacre. Here, a lot of people died. I do not know the precise number. In the sermon that can be found on his website, he said, "Some have reported 90, some say less, and some say more."

Rights groups claim that the government has discriminated against ethnic minorities like the Kurds for a long time. In the region where Amini was killed, unrest has also been particularly intense.

The state denies discrimination claims.

Unrest in Iran has been attributed to a variety of enemies, including armed dissidents. Iranian Kurdish armies' bases in Iraq have been targeted by the Revolutionary Guards.

Protesters have used chants expressing solidarity between various ethnic groups to emphasize the unity of the nation.

According to Hengaw, rights groups, shopkeepers went on strike on Saturday in Sanandaj, the provincial capital of Iran's Kurdistan province, Saqez, Amini's hometown, and Bukan, another city in the northwestern region.

On Friday, the activist news organization HRANA reported that the nationwide unrest had resulted in the deaths of 244 protesters, including 32 children. At least 26 members of the security forces died during the unrest, according to state television.