The country has been rocked by over two months of protests since the death in morality police custody on September 16 of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurd.

Government officials have blamed the "riots" on "foreign enemies" in the West they accuse of inciting law-breaking.

"Ali Fatahi... was killed on Wednesday evening by mercenaries of the enemy and the counter-revolution, because he was a member of the Basij," Fars said, referring to the volunteer militia recruited under the auspices of the Revolutionary Guard.

Provincial security official Mohammad Rezaei described Fatahi as a "citizen of Marivan" and said he was "killed by a bullet to the back," Fars added.

Since the unrest erupted in mid-September, more than 30 security force personnel have been killed, most of them shot or stabbed to death, state media say.