Brussels — The EU pushed Iran on Monday to guarantee the right to protest as authorities have moved to crack down on days of unrest across the nation. Protests broke out Thursday and have quickly grown to become the biggest test for the regime since mass demonstrations in 2009. We have been in touch with the Iranian authorities and we expect that the right to peaceful demonstration and freedom of expression will be guaranteed, a spokeswoman for the bloc's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement. We will continue to monitor developments, the spokeswoman added. The latest demonstrations on Monday came despite President Hassan Rohani's vow that the nation would deal with rioters and lawbreakers. Rohani came to power in 2013 promising to mend the economy and ease social tensions, but high living costs and a 12 percent unemployment rate have left many feeling that progress is too slow. Meanwhile, Turkey on Tuesday said it was concerned by days-long protests that have engulfed neighboring Iran, warning against any escalation in the unrest. Turkey is concerned by news the protests in Iran... are spreading, causing casualties and also the fact that some public buildings were damaged, the foreign ministry said in a statement, adding common sense should prevail to prevent any escalation. Iranian President Hassan Rohani has tried to play down the unrest, which began over economic grievances in second city Mashhad last Thursday but quickly turned against the regime as a whole with chants of Death to the dictator. The five-day unrest, the biggest challenge to the Islamic regime since the 2009 mass demonstrations, has so far claimed 21 lives. Turkey -- which was hit by protests against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (then premier) in 2013 -- said it attaches the utmost importance to the maintenance of peace and stability in friendly and brotherly Iran. Turkey, whose rivalry with Iran goes back to the regional battle for supremacy between the Ottoman Empire and imperial Persia, has had on occasion tricky moments in relations with Tehran. Erdogan has repeatedly railed against Persian imperialism in the Middle East but relations have warmed in the last months as Moscow and Tehran work tightly with Ankara to bring peace to Syria. — AFP