A massive fire has broken out at Iran's infamous Avin Prison, which is home to political prisoners, journalists and foreign nationals.
Videos shared online show flames and smoke at the site in Tehran, and gunfire and explosions can be heard.
An official quoted by state media said the situation was under control, but video footage showed the fire still raging.
Iran has been gripped by anti-government protests for weeks.
They first erupted last month after the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian Mahsa Amini in police custody. Officials said he died of a heart attack, but his family disputed it saying he was beaten up by morality police.
BBC Persian's Rana Rahimpour said it was not yet known whether the prison situation was linked to recent demonstrations.
But it can easily happen, Rana said, as hundreds of protesters have been sent to Avin.
State media have suggested the two are not linked, with one official blaming "criminal elements" for the fire.
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In a video posted on social media by the anti-government watchdog group 1500Pictures, slogans of "death to the dictator" - one of the main slogans of the anti-government protest movement - can be heard coming from outside the prison.
According to BBC Persian, another video shows objects being shot from outside the prison's perimeter, and then an explosion is heard.
Iranian media, which is strictly controlled by the government, reported that the riot began with financial and criminal prisoners, and that no political prisoners were involved. Eight people were injured, it said.
Speaking from inside the prison, Tehran's governor told state TV that the riot was in a wing of the prison housing petty criminals and that the situation was now completely calm.
However, the prison situation is still confused, reports BBC Persian's Kasara Naji. Videos are being continuously posted on social media showing the fire still burning and gunshots being heard around the prison.
Kasra said other photos show prisoners on the roof of a part of the prison where political prisoners and several protesters arrested over the past four weeks are kept.
The families of some prisoners told the BBC that they were unable to contact their relatives by phone, which they normally could, and that the internet connection around the prison appeared to have been cut.
The roads leading to the prison were closed.
Earlier, the video showed riot police entering Evin. There were also reports that special forces were deployed in the area. An eyewitness told Reuters news agency that ambulances were also there.
British-Iranian dual nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anusheh Ashuri were both held in Evin prison for several years on espionage charges, which they denied prior to their release earlier this year.
The prison has long been criticized by Western rights groups. Human Rights Watch has accused officers in the prison of torture and threatening indefinite imprisonment, as well as lengthy interrogations and denial of medical care to detainees.
A group of hackers calling themselves Adlat-e Ali (Ali's Justice) posted videos of surveillance footage leaked from Avin Prison in August last year that showed guards beating or abusing prisoners.
A man holds a candle during a demonstration in solidarity with the protesters.
Some foreign governments whose citizens are being jailed have expressed concern.
A US State Department spokesman said it was following the developments "urgently", while the UK government's security minister called it a "very worrying development".
Since Ms Amini's death five weeks ago, a wave of protests has swept across Iran in what is hailed as the biggest challenge since the establishment of the Islamic republic in 1979.
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