The UN Security Council will meet Friday afternoon to discuss the crisis in Iran after the United States asked the body to address deadly protests there, a source told.

Axar.az reports citing Sputnik.

"The UNSC meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. [20:00GMT] on Friday and will be held in an open format," the source said.

The Council's daily program for Friday, published on its website, shows the 15-nation body would meet in the afternoon to discuss the "situation in the Middle East."

US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley told reporters Tuesday she would seek an emergency UN meeting in New York City and at the UN human rights agency in Geneva.

US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert warned earlier on Thursday that Washington had ample means to hold those responsible for the violent crackdown on protesters in Iran accountable.
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Sputnik the US call for an urgent UN meeting on Iran's domestic affairs was "harmful and destructive." He argued that it was not UN's role as a watchdog of international peace to discuss Iran's domestic issues.

In the past week, the Islamic Republic has seen the largest popular unrest in nearly a decade. Protests began over price hikes and unemployment but then turned to broader issues like the clerical rule. At least 20 people have reportedly been killed and 450 have been detained.