Hundreds dead in Iran protests including children, says UN

The UN human rights office has warned the situation with ongoing protests in Iran is "critical".

A hardening of the response by security forces to the anti-government unrest was resulting in a rising number of deaths, UN spokesperson Liz Throssell said.

She put the toll at more than 300 and expressed concern at reports that bodies were being held unless families stayed silent or gave false statements on the cause of death.