(Presstv) -- "We expect the French government to abide by its legal responsibility towards this terrorist group along the lines of battling terrorism and violence," Rouhani made the call during a phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday.

The MKO is the most hated terrorist group among the Iranians because of its dark history of assassinations and bombings, and for siding with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in his eight-year war against Iran in the 1980s.

Out of the nearly 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist assaults since the victory of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, about 12,000 have fallen victim to MKO’s acts of terror.

Over the past few days, the MKO has been calling for violence during street protests in several Iranian cities.

Since Thursday, groups of Iranian protesters have staged demonstrations in several cities to voice their anger over rising prices and economic conditions. Sporadic violence has erupted during the protests, causing a number of casualties.

While stressing that no country would neglect public security, Rouhani also noted that promotion of violence is separate from a nation's legitimate right to express its demands and criticism.

According to his office, Macron brought up "the number of victims from the demonstrations" during his conversation with Rouhani, and the two leaders also decided to delay a visit by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to Tehran which was scheduled for this week to a later date.

Earlier in the day, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said that enemies have been using various tools to deal blows to the Iranian nation and the Islamic establishment in the course of the latest developments in the country. 

“During the events of the past several days, Iran’s enemies, using the various tools at their disposal, including money, weapons, politics, and security apparatus, have allied [with one another] to create problems for the Islamic establishment,” the Leader said on Tuesday.

(Photo: A handout picture provided by the office of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on December 3, 2017 shows him giving a speech in the southern Iranian coastal city of Chabahar. AFP)