Iran's supreme leader has said he does not believe the leaders of opposition protests that erupted after the country's June presidential vote were 'agents of foreigners'.
Iranian officials have previously portrayed the protests as a foreign-backed bid to topple the clerical establishment.
They had accused Western powers, particularly the US and Britain of fomenting the unrest, a charge denied by both.
'I do not accuse the leaders of recent events as being the agents of foreigners, including America and Britain because it has not been proven to me,' Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted as saying by state television.
'But there is no doubt that this movement, whether its leaders know or not, was planned in advance,' Mr Khamenei said in a meeting with university students.
Some hardliners have repeatedly called for the arrest of opposition leaders who say the vote was rigged to secure the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Rights groups say hundreds of people, including senior pro-reform politicians, journalists and activists, have been detained since the election. Many are still in jail.
The losing candidates say 69 people were killed in the unrest but the authorities put the death toll at 26.
