Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the protests amounted to a plot that Iranians had defeated, referring to the worst anti-government unrest in Iran since authorities put down demonstrations against election fraud in 2009.

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The disturbances began on Nov. 15 after the announcement of gasoline price hikes but quickly turned political, with protesters demanding top leaders step down.

In response, the government has blamed "thugs" linked to exiles and the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia for stirring up street unrest.

"A deep, vast and very dangerous conspiracy that a lot of money had been spent on ... was destroyed by the people," Khamenei said in a meeting with members of the paramilitary Basij force which took part in the crackdown against protests, according to his official website.

Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli meanwhile said about 731 banks and 140 government sites were torched in the unrest.

More than 50 bases used by security forces were attacked and approximately 70 gas stations were also burned, he said, in remarks published by the official IRNA news agency, without specifying where the attacks took place.

According to IRNA, Rahmani Fazli also said up to 200,000 people took part nationwide in the unrest.

London-based Amnesty International said on Monday it had recorded at least 143 protesters killed in the protests.

Iran has rejected Amnesty's death toll. It says several people, including members of the security forces, were killed and more than 1,000 people arrested. The Center for Human Rights in Iran, a New York-based advocacy group, said the number of arrests was probably closer to 4,000.

The protests took place as new US sanctions imposed this year cut off nearly all of Iran's oil exports, and as similar protest movements erupted in Iraq and Lebanon against governments that include heavily armed pro-Iran factions.

There has been about a 20 million liter drop in daily gasoline consumption since the price hike, Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh said, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported.

The struggle of ordinary Iranians to make ends meet has become harder since last year when US President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers and reimposed sanctions on the country.

Combined with the rising inflation, growing unemployment, a slump in the rial and state corruption, Washington's "maximum pressure" has caused Iran's economy to deteriorate.

The government said the gasoline price rises of as much as 50% aim to raise around $2.55 billion a year for extra subsidies to 18 million families struggling on low incomes. The monthly cash payments are set at just 550,000 rials ($13.1) per person.

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Five days of protests in Iran have posed the boldest challenge to its clerical leadership since pro-reform unrest in 2009. According to reports, 20 people have been killed as some confrontations with police turned violent.

"I wish the Iranian people success in their noble quest for freedom," Netanyahu said in a video posted on his Facebook page.

"Brave Iranians are pouring into the streets. They seek freedom. They seek justice. They seek the basic liberties that have been denied them for decades. Iran's cruel regime wastes tens of billions of dollars spreading hate," he said in remarks that echoed similar praise from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Noting that the "money could have gone toward the building of schools or hospitals," Netanyahu said, "It's no wonder that fathers and mothers are marching in the streets. The regime is scared of them, of its own people. That is the reason they ban social media networks."

"But I am convinced that fear will not prevail," Netanyahu continued, "because the Iranian people are smart, sophisticated and proud. Today, it is risking everything for freedom."

On Monday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was quoted by state media as apparently blaming Iran's arch enemies, the United States and Israel, for provoking unrest.

"Our success in the political arena against the United States and the Zionist regime was unbearable to (Iran's enemies). Iran's success in the region was unbearable to them. Don't you expect that they would seek revenge? Don't you think they would provoke some people?" Rouhani was quoted as saying in a meeting with lawmakers.

Netanyahu said Rouhani's suggestion that Israel was involved was "not only false – it's laughable."

"Unlike Rouhani, I will not insult the Iranian people. They deserve better," Netanyahu said, adding that more Western countries should condemn Tehran for trying to quash the protests.

"Sadly, many European governments watch in silence as young heroic Iranians are beaten in the streets. That's just not right. And I, for one, will not stay silent," he said.

On Twitter, Monday, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence voiced support for the protesters and said the U.S. would not let them down. He hinted at the response by former U.S. President Barack Obama to the 2009 unrest in Iran, tweeting, "As long as @RealDonaldTrump is POTUS and I am VP, the United States of America will not repeat the shameful mistake of our past when others stood by and ignored the heroic resistance of the Iranian people as they fought against their brutal regime."

"The bold and growing resistance of the Iranian people today gives hope and faith to all who struggle for freedom and against tyranny. We must not and we will not let them down. #IranProtests," Pence tweeted further.

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