Iran's supreme leader on Monday said that the death of Mahsa Amini in custody was a "bitter incident" and accused the United States and Israel - the Islamic Republic's arch-adversaries - of orchestrating the ongoing disturbances which have rocked the country.

In his first remarks addressing the 22-year-old woman's death after being arrested for wearing clothes deemed “un-Islamic” by strict Iranian morality police, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave his full backing to security forces confronting protests ignited by Amini's death.

Security forces, including police and the volunteer Basij militia, have been leading a crackdown on the protests, with thousands arrested and hundreds injured, according to human rights groups, some of which have put the death toll at over 130.

Iranian authorities have reported many members of the security forces killed during the unrest, which has spiraled into the biggest show of opposition to Iran's authorities in years, with many calling for the end of more than four decades of Islamic clerical rule.

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