By Elwely Elwelly

DUBAI, Jan 4 (Reuters) - At least 16 people have been killed during a week of unrest in Iran, rights groups said on Sunday, as protests over soaring inflation spread across the country, sparking violent clashes between demonstrators and security forces.

Deaths and arrests have been reported through the week both by state media and rights groups, though the figures differ. Reuters has not been able to independently verify the numbers.

The protests are the biggest in three years and while smaller than some previous bouts of unrest to rattle the Islamic Republic, they come at a moment of vulnerability with the economy in tatters and international pressure building.

SUPREME LEADER SAYS IRAN WILL NOT YIELD TO ENEMY

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to come to the protesters' aid if they face violence, saying on Friday "we are locked and loaded and ready to go", without specifying what actions he was considering.

That warning prompted threats of retaliation against U.S. forces in the region from senior Iranian officials. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran "will not yield to the enemy".

Kurdish rights group Hengaw reported that at least 17 people had been killed since the start of the protests. HRANA, a network of rights activists, said at least 16 people had been killed and 582 arrested.

Iran's police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan told state media that security forces had been targeting protest leaders for arrest over the previous two days, saying "a big number of leaders on the virtual space have been detained".

Police said 40 people had been arrested in the capital Tehran alone over what they called "fake posts" on protests aimed at disturbing public opinion.

The most intense clashes have been reported in western parts of Iran but there have also been protests and clashes between demonstrators and police in Tehran, in central areas, and in the southern Baluchistan province.

Late on Saturday, the governor of Qom, the conservative centre of Iran's Shi'ite Muslim clerical establishment, said two people had been killed there in unrest, adding that one of them had died when an explosive device he made blew up prematurely.

HRANA and the state-affiliated Tasnim news agency reported that authorities had detained the administrator of online accounts urging protests.

CURRENCY LOST AROUND HALF ITS VALUE

Protests began a week ago among bazaar traders and shopkeepers before spreading to university students and then provincial cities, where some protesters have been chanting against Iran's clerical rulers.

Iran has faced inflation above 36% since the start of its year in March and the rial currency has lost around half its value against the dollar, causing hardship for many people.

International sanctions over Iran's nuclear programme have been reimposed, the government has struggled to provide water and electricity across the country through the year, and global financial bodies predict a recession in 2026.

Authorities have attempted a dual approach to the protests - acknowledging the economic crisis and offering dialogue with demonstrators while meeting more forceful displays of dissent with violence.

Khamenei said on Saturday that although authorities would talk to protesters, "rioters should be put in their place".

Speaking on Sunday, Vice President Mohammadreza Aref said the government acknowledged the country faced shortcomings while warning that some people were seeking to exploit the protests.

"We expect the youth not to fall into the trap of the enemies," Aref said in comments carried by state media.

(Reporting by Elwely Elwelly and Dubai newsroom; Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Alison Williams and Ros Russell)