Protests in Iran continued Thursday evening in the capital Tehran and several other cities including in Western cities of Sanandaj and Kermanshah.
Although protests began last Friday when a 22-year old woman, Mahsa Amini died after being detained by the notorious religious police for hijab, nationwide unrest began on Monday, that takes place mostly in the evenings.
Protesters have shown determination and self confidence in many locations by not retreating in the face of police and anti-riot forces.
Disruption in mobile internet which began Wednesday has continued and may prevent or delay news and footage of protests tonight from reaching the Iranian people and the outside world.
According to Iran Human Rights Organization (IHRO), 31 protesters have been shot dead by security forces in various cities and many have been arrested in the past five days. The official news agency (IRNA) has reported a total of 17 deaths among protesters and security forces.
Cloudflare traffic data shows an outage beginning at 1230 UTC. According to Cloudflare Radar which documents Internet trends as seen by the Cloudflare global network MCI, Iran's largest mobile network operator, is experiencing another Internet disruption.
Our live coverage ended at 1:30 Friday Iran time.
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A report from Amol in northern Iran says fierce protests were underway in the evening, with security forces firing at the crowds. According to unconfirmed reports two people have been killed.
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Qeshm island in the Persian Gulf. Protesters pelting Khamenei's and Qassem Soleimani’s images on a judiciary building.
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Protesters chanting “Death to Khamenei” in Narmak in eastern Tehran.
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Protest in Khorramabad, capital of Lorestan Province in western Iran. The word "justice" can be heard being chanted.
Fifth straight day of protests in the western city of Hamedan. Protesters are chanting that clerics "should get lost."
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In Rasht, one the largest cities in northern Iran, protesters set fire to police vehicles Thursday evening.
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Protesters in Jannat Abbad, a suburb west of Tehran set fire to police vehicles Thursday evening.
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Amid Iran’s nationwide popular protests and heavy-handed crackdown by authorities, the US has issued fresh sanctions against the Islamic Republic, targeting hijab police and some security officials.
In a statement on its website on Thursday, the US the Treasury Department said its “Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating Iran’s Morality Police for abuse and violence against Iranian women and the violation of the rights of peaceful Iranian protestors.”
“The Morality Police are responsible for the recent death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested and detained for allegedly wearing a hijab improperly,” it added.
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Gunshots are heard amid protests in Kashmar, city of 100,000 in eastern Khorasan-e Razavi province.
People have taken to the street since late afternoon in Mobarakeh, town of around 62,000 in Esfahan Province, for the first time.
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A large protest started Thursday afternoon in Kermanshah, where demonstrators were able to block the path of security forces trying to enter the area to disperse the crowd.
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Protesters cheered a man ripping a large banner of Iran's ruler Ali Khamenei in Amol, city of around 300,000 in northern Mazandaran Province on Thursday.
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In Oshnavieh, a Kurdish majority town of around 40,000 in West Azarbaijan Province, shops were closed Thursday in protest to crackdown on demonstrators in the neighboring Kordestan Province where nearly a dozen have been killed so far.
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Iran blocked Google Play and Apple AppStore Thursday afternoon to prevent downloading of anti-filtering software. The government has mostly disrupted internet access and on Wednesday blocked Instagram, the only major social media app that was still accessible in the country.
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Human rights group Amnesty International urged world leaders at the UN General Assembly to devise a mechanism to hold Iran accountable for its violent crackdown on popular protests. In a statement on Wednesday, the group said that the international community “must support calls for the establishment of an independent international investigative and accountability mechanism to address the prevailing crisis of impunity in Iran."
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Thursday afternoon, local time - Protesters chanting against Supreme Leaader Ali Khamenei in the center of Tehran, Hejab Street and Keshavarz Boulevard.
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Eslam Abad-e Gharb, town of around 21,000 in Kermanshah Province. Protesters destroy a police kiosk.