The article provided no concrete evidence, such as official statements or witness accounts, to substantiate the accusation. Tehran Times, widely regarded as aligned with Iran's government, often frames Israel as a primary adversary, casting doubt on the report's impartiality.

The alleged incident comes against the backdrop of ongoing Operation Rising Lion – Israel's campaign, launched on Thursday night, to remove the threat posed by the radical ayatollah regime in Tehran over its ongoing nuclear program, which has reached dangerous levels of uranium enrichment and sophistication, potentially having the capacity to build several bombs within several weeks once it decides on such a move.

Israel's campaign has so far managed to cripple Iranian air defenses and decapitate its senior military leadership, as well as deal severe blows to its nuclear program by hitting its main installations, including the largest enrichment center in Natanz. Several key nuclear scientists were also killed.

Before the war, Iran had accused Israel of orchestrating attacks on its infrastructure, including nuclear facilities, while Israel seldom acknowledges such actions. As of now, no independent sources, including international media, have confirmed the fire or its cause. Iranian authorities have not issued an official response, and Israel's government has remained silent on the matter.

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Police Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai visited a police unit responsible for enforcing Israel's Planning and Building and Real Estate Laws. The unit, which specializes in warfare and riot management, was active in Jerusalem, Lod, Tel Aviv, as well as the north and the south of the country throughout the Israel Defense Force's Operation Guardian of the Walls in the Gaza Strip.

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During his visit, Shabtai watched officers train for a scenario in which they are targeted by gunfire as they break into a building set for demolition.

Speaking to the officers, Shabtai said: Recent weeks have been very busy with operational activity around the country, and it was important for me to come here and thank you for your professional work that contributed a great deal to police efforts in Operation Guardian of the Walls."

He said that given the accomplishments of the Israel Police's Operation Law and Order, aimed at restoring the peace following weeks of rioting across the country, "We have decided to continue the operation over the weekend and next week as well, through the concentration of intelligence, operational, and investigative efforts toward the arrest of lawbreakers and the location of illegal weapons across the country, with an emphasis on the arrest of those who possess illegal weapons. From the start of the operation, which is being carried out all across the country, we have arrested hundreds of suspects and located dozens of weapons. In the coming days and throughout next week, we will continue to act with the large forces at our disposal, including reserve squadrons of the Border Police, to ensure those who harmed the security of citizens will be arrested and stand trial and quiet on the streets is maintained."

Thus far, police have arrested 348 suspects across Israel as part of Operation Law and Order. Since the launch of Israel's Operation Guardian of the Walls, security forces have arrested 1,938 suspects and filed 175 indictments.

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Tunisian President Kais Saied has denied claims that he made anti-Semitic remarks this week while trying to calm youths after days of unrest.

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Saied's statement was in response to allegations by the Conference of European Rabbis that he accused Jews of being responsible "for the instability of the country."

The CER statement, issued Tuesday, said such talk "constitutes an immediate threat for the physical and moral integrity of Tunisian Jewish Citizens." The organization asked the head of state to retract his words.

The statement, relayed by some Israeli media, caused an uproar, forcing Saied to address the allegations, which his office firmly denied.

In a statement Wednesday night, his office denounced the "propagation of false information," saying it amounted to "calumny."

Saied visited M'nihla-Ettadhamon, outside the capital Tunis, on Tuesday to speak directly with youths after a spate of vandalism and looting in several towns.

The Tunisian president, wearing a mask, was not always fully audible in the recording posted by his office of his encounter with the youths.

The groundswell of anger grew out of economic and social ills and failed promises of opportunities that flowed from Tunisia's revolution 10 years ago, The unrest began amid a four-day lockdown that started Jan. 14 – the day Tunisia marked its revolution.

"The president mentioned no religion and there was no reasonable motive to deal with the question of religion in the context of protests," his office's statement said.

It said the president spoke with the chief rabbi of Tunisia, Haim Bittan, to reassure him that Tunisian Jews enjoy "the solicitude and protection of the Tunisian state, like all other citizens."

Saied also used the occasion to underscore his fervent defense of Palestinians' rights "to their land," referring to Israeli-occupied territory, while saying that position is not linked to religious freedom.

There are an estimated 1,500 Jews in Tunisia, mainly on the island of Djerba.

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The country is in political and economic turmoil after three weeks of nationwide protests that prompted Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri to resign last week.

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"The time has come to meet the people's demands and the national free will that transcends sects, political parties, and regions," Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian said in a televised address on the occasion of Prophet Mohammed's birthday.

"The time has come and is opportune, after this national wake-up call, for the reform process to begin and for those in power to form an emergency government made up of competent people, without delay," Derian said.

It is time "to immediately proceed with carrying out the reform package prepared by Prime Minister Hariri to solve the country's problems", he added.

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Lebanon's top Christian religious authority, has also called for a change in government to include qualified technocrats.

Before he stepped down, Hariri agreed to a package of reforms with partners in the coalition government aimed at easing an economic crisis that sparked the unprecedented protests against the sectarian ruling elite.

The plans included a 50% reduction in the salaries of current and former officials and $3.3 billion in contributions from banks to achieve a "near-zero deficit" for the 2020 budget.

But Lebanese politicians have yet to make progress towards agreeing on a new government to replace one that was toppled.

The country's power-sharing system is based on 18 recognized religious sects and dates back to French colonial rule. It allocates posts for each of the country's communities, forming the basis of its major political parties and creating a delicate balance between Christians, Sunni and Shiite Muslims and other groups.

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Populist Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr demanded this week that Abdul Mahdi call an early election to quell the biggest mass protests in Iraq since the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The demonstrations are fuelled by anger at corruption and widespread economic hardship.

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Sadr had urged his main political rival Hadi al-Amiri, whose alliance of Iran-backed militias is the second-biggest political force in parliament, to help oust Abdul Mahdi.

But in a secret meeting in Baghdad on Wednesday, Qassem Soleimani, head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' elite black-ops arm Quds Force, intervened. Soleimani asked Amiri and his militia leaders to keep supporting Abdul Mahdi, according to five sources with knowledge of the meeting.

Spokesmen for Amiri and Sadr could not be reached for comment. An Iranian security official confirmed Soleimani was at Wednesday's meeting, saying he was there to "give advice."

"Iraq's security is important for us and we have helped them in the past. The head of our Quds Force travels to Iraq and other regional countries regularly, particularly when our allies ask for our help," the Iranian official said, asking not to be named.

Soleimani, whose Quds force coordinates Tehran-backed militias in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, is a frequent visitor to Iraq. However, his direct intervention is the latest sign of Iran's increasing influence in Iraq and across the region.

Iraqi security officials told Reuters earlier this month that Iran-backed militias deployed snipers on Baghdad rooftops to try to help put down the protests.

If Iraq falls further into crisis, Iran risks losing the influence it has steadily been amassing in the country since the US-led invasion and which it sees as a counter to American influence in the region.

Despite the maneuvering behind closed doors, Abdul Mahdi's fate remains unclear. He took office a year ago as a compromise candidate between Amiri and Sadr but faces a wave of protests that has swelled in recent days.

In the 16 years since the fall of Saddam, a Sunni Muslim, Shiite Iran has emerged as a key power broker in Iraqi politics, with greater influence than the United States in the Shiite majority country.

But that proxy power battle has rankled ordinary Iraqis who criticize a political elite they say is subservient to one or the other of Baghdad's two allies and pays more attention to those alliances than to Iraqis' basic economic needs.

Despite their country's vast oil wealth, many Iraqis live in poverty or have limited access to clean water, electricity, basic health care and education. Most of the protesters are young people who above all want jobs.

The protests have broken nearly two years of relative stability in Iraq. They have spread from Baghdad across the mainly Shiite south and met with a security crackdown that killed over 250 people.

Until earlier this week, it appeared that Amiri – who is one of Tehran's key allies in Iraq and the leader of the Badr Organization of militia – was willing to support Abdul Mahdi's departure.

Late on Tuesday night, Amiri issued a public statement agreeing to "work together" with Sadr after the cleric called on him to help oust the prime minister.

Wednesday's meeting seemingly changed the course of events.

A Shiite militia commander loyal to Amiri – one of the five sources Reuters spoke to about the meeting – said there was agreement that Abdul Mahdi needed to be given time to enact reforms to calm the agitated public.

Many of the militia leaders raised fears at the meeting that ousting Abdul Mahdi could weaken the Popular Mobilisation Forces, according to another source familiar with the meeting.

The PMF is an umbrella of mostly Shiite paramilitary groups backed by Iran who are influential in Iraq's parliament and have allies in the government. They formally report to the prime minister but have their own command structure outside the military.

Following the meeting with Soleimani, Amiri changed tune with Sadr. He told Sadr that getting rid of Abdul Mahdi would cause more chaos and threaten stability, a politician close to Sadr said.

In response, Sadr said publicly that without a resignation there would be more bloodshed and that he would not work with Amiri again.

"I will never enter into alliances with you after today," he said in a statement.

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"The US and Western intelligence services, with the financial backing of reactionary countries in the region, are spreading turmoil," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted by his official website as telling graduating army cadets.

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Khamenei urged protesters to seek changes in a lawful way in Iraq and Lebanon, where Iran has powerful allies among Shiite Muslim government factions.

In an apparent warning, Khamenei praised Iran's crackdown against street protests at home in 2018.

"They [US and Saudi Arabia] had similar plans for our dear country, but fortunately the people... came out in time and the armed forces were ready and that plot was neutralized," Khamenei said, in a reference to the protests which were put down by security forces while authorities held pro-government rallies.

Iran's weeks-long unrest in 2017-2018 began as protests about economic hardship and corruption but grew into political rallies, some of which criticized Khamenei by name.

They were the boldest challenge to Iran's leadership since 2009, when security forces crushed a pro-reform uprising and killed dozens of protesters.

"Our advice has always been to call for peace and (stopping) interference by foreign forces in these countries [Iraq and Lebanon]," President Hassan Rouhani's chief of staff Mahmoud Vaezi was quoted as saying earlier by state media.

The United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel were riding a wave of popular demands and providing those forces with financial support, he added.

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Hassan Nasrallah said the current unity government should instead bring "a new spirit" to tackling the economic crisis fueling the demonstrations. His televised speech did nothing to soothe protesters in the streets, who included Nasrallah in their chants listing senior figures they blame for corruption and mismanagement.

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The spontaneous protests are Lebanon's largest in five years, spreading beyond Beirut. They are building on long-simmering anger at a ruling class that has divvied up power among themselves and amassed wealth for decades but has done little to fix a crumbling economy and dilapidated infrastructure.

On Saturday night, a Lebanese Christian leader asked his four ministers in the cabinet to resign, saying he no longer believes the current national unity government headed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri can steer the country out of the deepening economic crisis.

The resignation announced by Samir Geagea, who heads the right-wing Lebanese Forces party, is another test for the government but does not collapse the 30-member cabinet.

Earlier Saturday, thousands gathered in central Beirut chanting against all politicians for hours past nightfall. There were smaller protests in other towns and cities.

"Thieves, thieves," they chanted and named almost every senior Lebanese politician, cursing them or demanding they step down.

"All of them, and Nasrallah is one of them," they shouted. The black-turbaned figure with a large Shiite following is normally a taboo, but outraged protesters have spared no one from their criticism, aiming at the entire ruling class.

Iranian-backed Hezbollah dominates the current cabinet through its party and its allies. Both Nasrallah and Hariri, who spoke on TV the night before, presented an image that they each support the protesters' aims but that others in government are blocking a reform agenda.

Nasrallah said it would be "a waste of time" for the current national unity government to resign since the same political factions would have to haggle over forming a new one.

"If this government resigns, we won't have a new one for a year or two," he said in a televised speech, pointing to perpetual political divisions that delayed forming the current cabinet for nine months. He said the deeply-indebted economy doesn't have the luxury of time.

"Let this government continue but with a new spirit and new way of working and let it learn its lessons from the last two days of popular outburst," said Nasrallah, denouncing political rivals, without naming any, who shirk their responsibility amid the crisis.

Protests erupted after the government proposed new taxes criticized for hitting low income groups the hardest. The taxes included a flat $6 monthly fee for using the free voice and call services of Whatsapp. Public anger had already been growing for months over an austerity budget that hiking multiple taxes and curbed government pensions and employment benefits at a time when many struggle with high prices and unemployment.

The nation came to a standstill amid the large-scale protests, which have brought people from across the sectarian and religious lines that define the country.

On Saturday, protesters carrying Lebanese flags massed at a security barricade piled with barbed wire outside the government's offices. "The people want to bring down the regime," was the uniting refrain.

Mia Oueini, a 15-year-old in the crowd, said politicians should bear the responsibility of the protests.

"This is not our fault. They are the thieves," she said, pulling at a gas mask she had over her mouth in case of police tear gas. "My message [to them] is ... Please stop lying, stop stealing and just give us what we need."

In his speech Friday night, Hariri gave his partners in the government a 72-hour ultimatum to come up with convincing solutions to the economic crisis. On Saturday, Hariri said he was meeting cabinet ministers to "reach what serves the Lebanese."

Friday night, some demonstrators went on a rampage, smashing window shops and bank exteriors in Beirut's glitzy downtown. Security forces eventually responded by firing tear gas and water cannons. Dozens were arrested.

Amnesty International called on police to stop the use of "excessive force," pointing to the large amount of tear gas as well as beatings and harassment at gunpoint of protesters.

On Saturday, Lebanese Al Jadeed TV said protests in the southern city of Tyre turned violent when supporters of longtime Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri attacked protesters who named him among those corrupt officials who should step down. His party said it is investigating the violence.

Nasrallah told the protesters their message was heard and that he too was against increasing taxes that directly impact the poor. But he warned the protesters against being pulled into political rivalries, saying that would derail their message.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain called on their citizens to leave Lebanon amid the unrest, underscoring the risk of the unrest to an economy already on the verge of collapse.

Lebanon has the third-highest debt level in the world, currently standing at about $86 billion, or 150% of its gross domestic product.

International donors demand that Lebanon implement economic changes in order to get loans and grants pledged at the CEDRE economic conference in Paris in April 2018. International donors pledged $11 billion for Lebanon but they sought to ensure the money is well spent in the corruption-plagued country.

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"Islamic terrorist infiltration is no longer a risk, it has become a certainty: it is therefore my duty to reiterate that no docking will be allowed on Italian shores," he said in a radio interview on Wednesday.

Salvini, leader of the anti-immigrant Northern League party, refused to say if Italy's stance could change in case of a full-fledged war in Libya after the flare-up in the cycle of anarchy gripping the country since dictator Moammar Gadhafi was toppled in 2011.

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"In recent days, enemies of Iran used different tools including cash, weapons, politics and intelligence apparatus to create troubles for the Islamic Republic," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted as saying in a post on his official website.

Khamenei said he would address the nation about the recent events "when the time is right."

The demonstrations, the largest in Iran since the country's disputed 2009 presidential election, have seen five days of unrest across the country and an overall death toll of at least 20 people, with the slaying of a police officer announced late Monday.

The protests began Thursday in the Iranian city of Mashhad over the country's weak economy and a spike in food prices. The protests quickly spread to several cities, with some protesters chanting against the government and the supreme leader.

Hundreds of people have been arrested.

The protests have put pressure on the clerical leaders who have been in power since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, as well as President Hassan Rouhani.

Rouhani acknowledged the public's anger over the Islamic Republic's flagging economy, though he and others warned that the government wouldn't hesitate to crack down on those it considers lawbreakers.

"Their problem is not only economic; it's not like people have come to streets to say that we want money, bread, water. They have other demands as well. They are claiming other things as well," Rouhani said in a statement broadcast on state TV.

Iran is a major OPEC oil producer and regional power but frustrations have grown at home – where youth unemployment reached 28.8% last year – while the country is deeply involved in conflicts in Syria and Iraq as part of a battle for regional influence with rival Saudi Arabia. These foreign involvements are resented by many Iranians who want their leaders to create jobs instead of engaging in costly proxy wars.

Iranian state television aired footage of a ransacked private bank, broken windows, overturned cars and a fire truck that appeared to have been set ablaze.

"Some armed protesters tried to take over some police stations and military bases but faced serious resistance from security forces," state TV said.

In a later report, state TV said six people were killed in the western town of Tuyserkan, 295 kilometers (185 miles) southwest of Tehran, and three in the town of Shahinshahr, 315 kilometers (195 miles) south of Tehran. It did not say where the 10th person was killed.

Earlier Monday, the semi-official ILNA news agency quoted Hedayatollah Khademi, a representative for the town of Izeh, as saying two people died there Sunday night. He said the cause of death wasn't immediately known, though authorities later described one of the deaths as the result of a personal dispute.

Late Monday, Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency said an assailant using a hunting rifle killed a policeman and wounded three other officers during a demonstration in the central city of Najafabad, about 320 kilometers (200 miles) south of Tehran. The slaying marked the first security force member to be killed in the unrest.

Since then, Arab media reported that a total of three Iranian security officers had been killed.

Two protesters also were killed during clashes late Saturday in Doroud, some 325 kilometers (200 miles) southwest of Tehran in Lorestan province, authorities have said.

On Sunday, Iran blocked access to photo sharing app Instagram as well as access to Telegram, a messaging app popular for use by activists to organize.

Judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani on Monday urged authorities to confront rioters, state TV reported.

"I urge all prosecutors across the country to get involved and the approach should be strong," he said.

Rouhani also stressed Monday that Iran "has seen many similar events and overcame them easily."

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been continually tweeting in support of the protesters, described Iran as "failing at every level despite the terrible deal made with them by the Obama Administration."

"The great Iranian people have been repressed for many years," he wrote. "They are hungry for food & for freedom. Along with human rights, the wealth of Iran is being looted. TIME FOR CHANGE!"

While some have shared Trump's tweets, many in Iran distrust him because he has refused to re-certify the nuclear deal and his travel bans have blocked Iranians from getting U.S. visas.

Iran's economy has improved since the nuclear deal was reached in 2015. The deal saw Iran agree to limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of some international sanctions. Tehran now sells its oil on the global market and has signed deals to purchase tens of billions of dollars' worth of Western aircraft.

But the relief has not trickled down to the average Iranian. Unemployment remains high, and official inflation has crept up to 10% again. A recent increase in egg and poultry prices by as much as 40%, which the government has blamed on a cull over avian flu fears, appears to have been the trigger for the economic protests.

While the protests have sparked clashes, Iran's powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard force and its affiliates have not intervened as they have in other unauthorized demonstrations since the 2009 election.

It wasn't immediately clear if the Guard would change its posture given the reported attacks on police stations and military bases. In Tehran on Monday, streets were calm, though a heavy police presence was noticeable.

Brig. Gen. Massoud Jazayeri , the Guard commander and deputy chief of staff for Iran's military, said Monday that Trump's support of the protesters "indicates planning by the U.S. for launching a new sedition in Iran."

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