LONDON: British MP Alicia Kearns on Monday encouraged all Westerners to leave Iran after Tehran authorities arrested seven people with links to the UK, including some with dual nationality.

Those arrested were detained while trying to leave the country over anti-government protests, according to a statement by state media. 

Kearns said that the Iranian government had shown it would “happily” detain people with dual nationality, and expressed fears that some could be arrested even as they tried to flee the country.

“If I was a British foreign national in Iran, I would absolutely be leaving, because there is evidence that they will use them in any game of chess they can and they will face brutal repression. I would encourage anyone who is Western to try to leave Iran as safely as they can,” she said.

The British foreign ministry said it was seeking further information from Iranian authorities on reports that British-Iranian dual nationals had been arrested.

The arrests follow country-wide unrest triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian who was arrested for wearing “inappropriate attire” under Iran’s strict Islamic dress code for women. 

More than 700 people have been killed, including 65 children, and thousands have been injured since protests erupted against the Iranian regime. 

Amnesty International said that 26 people faced possible execution. Two people arrested over the protests have already been hanged by the Tehran authorities.