Protests fuelled by economic duress spiral into political ones in some cases as they spread to different cities.

Sporadic protests have broken out in the Iranian capital, Tehran, and other cities, according to local media, which also report intensifying clashes in the west of the country.

The demonstrations kicked off on December 28 when shopkeepers staged a strike over economic concerns, but a week later, they have spread in size and scope as protesters are also making political demands.

Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi reported from Tehran on Sunday that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said the ongoing protests have yet to become nationwide in scope, asserting that they are not quickly gaining momentum.

“From time to time and sporadically, we witness protests, such as last night in Tehran, Kazerun and other cities,” Khamenei said on Saturday, adding that 14 people, including security forces, have been killed since the demonstrations started.

“There might be further escalations if the government cannot come up with concrete and practical actions.”

Protests on Saturday evening in Tehran were described as “limited” by the semiofficial Fars news agency, which said they were “generally made up of groups of 50 to 200 young people”.

Tehran’s population is about 10 million.

Demonstrations were reported in the districts of Novobat and Tehran Pars in the capital’s east; Ekteban, Sadeghieh and Sattarkhan in the west; and Naziabad and Abdolabad in the south, Fars said.

Riots reported in Malekshahi

Demonstrators shouted slogans that included “death to the dictator”, Fars said, adding no major incidents were reported beyond stone throwing and rubbish bins being set alight.

The news agency said the situation in Tehran “contrasted with an intensification of violence and organised attacks in other regions, notably the country’s west”.

In Malekshahi, a county in western Iran of about 20,000 residents, including a sizeable Kurdish population, a member of the security forces was killed in clashes, Iranian media reported on Saturday.

“Rioters attempted to storm a police station,” Fars said, adding that “two assailants were killed.”

Accounts of the protests in local media are not exhaustive, and state-run outlets have downplayed their coverage of the demonstrations while videos flooding social media are often impossible to verify.

On Saturday, Khamenei sent a strong message in his first remarks on the demonstrations.

“We talk to protesters. The officials must talk to them,” Khamenei said.

“But there is no benefit to talking to rioters. Rioters must be put in their place.”

Asadi said Khamenei’s statement recognised the economic problems the country is facing.

“That gives legitimacy from his vantage point to these protests on one hand,” Asadi said.

Asadi stressed that the supreme leader also made clear the government would not allow protests to turn violent.

“That is the obvious warning he is trying to send out,” Al Jazeera’s correspondent added.