Tehran: State media reported on Sunday at least 10 more deaths in post-election unrest and said authorities have arrested the daughter and four other relatives of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of Iran's most powerful men.
The reports brought the official death toll for a week of unrest to at least 19. State television inside Iran said 10 were killed and 100 injured in clashes on Saturday between demonstrators contesting the result of the June 12 election and black-clad police wielding truncheons, tear gas and water cannons.
However English-language Press TV, which is broadcast only outside the country, put the toll at 13 and labeled those who died "terrorists". There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy.
Amnesty International cautioned that it was "perilously hard" to verify the casualty tolls.
"The climate of fear has cast a shadow over the whole situation," Amnesty's chief Iran researcher Drewery Dyke said.
"In the 10 years I've been following this country, I've never felt more at sea than I do now. It's just cut off," he added.
On Sunday, the streets of Tehran were eerily quiet.
Press TV reported Rafsanjani's eldest daughter, Faezeh Hashemi, and four other family members were arrested late yesterday. It did not identify the other four. Last week, state television showed images of Hashemi speaking to hundreds of Mousavi supporters.