TEHRAN - Another 42 people have died of swine flu in Iran over the past week, raising the Islamic republic's death toll from the illness to 100, ISNA news agency reported on Wednesday.

"During the past week, 42 people died of A(H1N1) flu. Most of them had previous records of heart and respiratory diseases," a health ministry report said, quoted by ISNA.

It said a total of 3,128 people have now been diagnosed with the illness in Iran, where a first swine flu death was reported on August 26 as that of a 36-year-old woman drug addict.

Iran has placed restrictions on Muslims planning to travel to Mecca in Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj pilgrimage later this month.