An Iranian father has been arrested for blasting his 16-year-old daughter to death with a shotgun.

Ariana Lashkari was gunned down in Nurabad, Fars province, southern Iran, on 27th June.

Local reports say her father flew into a rage when he saw his daughter in a park with a man.

Mohammad Kazem Lashkari, 43, was seized by police following the shooting.

After his arrest, the father claimed he had only intended to scare his daughter with the shotgun.

He is quoted as telling police: “After an argument over something, Ariana went to my mother’s house and I could not control my anger.

“I went there with my shotgun to scare her.

“I really did not mean to kill my daughter. I fired involuntarily.”

However, human rights activist Masih Alinejad posted an audio file of a relative of the victim on Instagram.

The family member claimed the teenager “wanted to live without family restrictions and their old wives’ tales and gossip.”

A neighbour told local media that Mohammad used to be a drug addict who divorced his wife a number of years ago.

Ariana and her sister ended up living with their father and he eventually managed to give up his addiction.

On the night in question, Mohammad saw his daughter in a park with a young man and flew into a rage, allegedly shooting her with the shotgun and threatening to kill her sister as well.

The neighbour suspects he was acting under the influence of drugs again.

The local authorities have not confirmed the neighbour’s reported allegation and the investigation into the teen’s death is ongoing.