DUBAI, January 12. /TASS/. General Javad Keshavarz, head of the drug control department in the city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran, was killed in an attack linked to rioters, the command of the law enforcement forces in the Razavi-Khorasan province reported.

"Brigadier General Javad Keshavarz, head of the Mashhad city police department for combating drugs, was killed as a result of an attack by armed terrorists in the city," the Iranian state broadcaster reported.

On December 29, protests erupted in Tehran following a sharp devaluation of the Iranian rial. Students joined the demonstrations the next day. The unrest spread to most of the country’s major cities. The violence peaked on the evening of January 8, resulting in at least 13 civilian deaths, including a 3-year-old child, and 38 law enforcement fatalities. Iranian authorities have classified the rioters as "terrorists," alleging that Israel and the US were behind the protests.