Iran bumps up funding for protest crackdown enforcers despite sanction-hit economy

Iran has granted its state security forces big increases in funding for the next Persian calendar year as anti-government protests continue to grip the country.

Funding for the much-feared Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) paramilitary has been increased by 28 percent on the previous year to $3 billion, British newspaper The Times reported Monday, despite sanctions continuing to deal blows to the Iranian economy.

The budget of Iran's army was upped by more than a third to more than $1.22 billion, while the police budget will rise to $1.55 billion, an increase of 44 percent, the British daily said.

Funding for the intelligence ministry and for prisons will be increased by more than half, the report added.

The budget will come into effect on 21 March, the first day of the Persian calendar year, according to Iran International.

Nationwide protests were sparked in September by the death of Mahsa (Jina) Amini, a Kurdish woman allegedly fatally beaten in police custody after being detained for wearing the mandatory headscarf 'improperly'. 

The protests, which have since morphed into a call for a change in government and an end to clerical rule, have been met with a brutal security force crackdown.

At least 516 protesters including 70 children have been killed since the crackdown, while more than 19,000 Iranians have been detained, according to activists. 

At least four people have been executed for taking part in the protests.