Iranian authorities say the deaths of two teenage girls have nothing to do with ongoing anti-government protests. They claim the girls took their own lives.

Protesters have been staging demonstrations against the authorities in response to the death of a woman, who was arrested for over how she wore her headscarf, or hijab. Mahsa Amini died on September 16 after police officers detained her. The demonstrators believe that the officers caused Amini's death.

On September 21, the body of 17-year-old Nika Shakarami was found in the yard of a building in the capital Tehran. She is said to have taken part in one of the demonstrations.

Authorities initially suggested that someone had pushed her from a height.

But on Monday, an interior ministry official said investigators had determined that the girl committed suicide.

The official said that she had family disputes and had been living in her aunt's house for a while, but she could not keep living there anymore. The official added she had nothing to do with the protests.

Norway-based Iran Human Rights mentioned the death of a 16-year-old girl late last month. The group said Sarina Esmailzadeh died after being beaten by security forces during a demonstration in Karaj, near Tehran. It said Esmailzadeh was with her friends at the time. The authorities claimed that the girl jumped off a roof.

Iran's government denies there is a relationship between the deaths of the two girls and the protests.
But many people have expressed their doubts on social media platforms. They say they suspect that the security forces were involved in the deaths of the girls.