Israeli minister wishes Iranians 'success' in anti-government protests

A senior Israeli minister has wished Iranian protesters "success" in demonstrations against the government but says his country had played no role in organising opposition to the Tehran regime.

In a radio interview on Monday, Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz said Israel is "not getting involved, but I certainly wish the Iranian people success in the struggle for freedom and democracy".

Israel has long viewed Iran as its greatest security threat because of Tehran's nuclear programme, its support for regional militants and Iranian leaders' frequent calls for Israel to be eliminated.

Iran has long accused Israel, the US and UK of meddling in its internal affairs and working to overthrow its government.

In recent days Iran has seen widespread anti-government protests, the largest since those that followed a disputed election in 2009.

Also on Monday, US President Donald Trump said it is "time for change" in Iran and that the country's people are "hungry" for freedom.

Trump has been vocal on Twitter about the protests in Iran since they erupted last week.

"The world is watching!" he said, reposting clips of his speech to the United Nations General Assembly in September.

But Iranian President Hassan Rouhani hit back, saying the US leader had "no right" to sympathise with protesters.

Ten people were killed overnight in Iran, local media reported, bringing the death toll after four days of protests to 12.

The protests began on Thursday in Mashhad over economic issues and have since expanded to several cities, with hundreds of people being arrested.