Protesters continue to rally across Iran and strikes were reported throughout the country’s Kurdish region as demonstrations against the death of a woman in police custody entered their third week.
The protests, sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old from Iranian Kurdistan, have spiraled into the biggest show of opposition to Iran’s clerical authorities since 2019, with dozens killed in unrest across the country.
People demonstrated in London and Paris and elsewhere in solidarity with Iranian protesters, some holding pictures of Amini, who died three days after being arrested by the Islamic Republic’s morality police for “unsuitable attire.”
In Iran, social media posts showed rallies in large cities including Tehran, Isfahan, Rasht and Shiraz.
In Tehran’s traditional business district of Bazaar, anti-government protesters chanted “We will be killed one by one if we don’t unite,” while elsewhere they blocked a main road with a fence torn from the central reservation, videos shared by the widely followed Tavsir1500 Twitter account showed.
Students also demonstrated at numerous universities. At Tehran University, dozens were detained, Tavsir1500 said.
The semi-official Fars news agency said some protesters were arrested in a square near the university.
Tavsir1500 also posted what it said was a video taken at the gates of Isfahan University during which shots could be heard.
A separate video showed tear gas being fired at the university, dispersing a group of people. Reuters could not verify the social media reports.
The protests began at Amini’s funeral on September 17 and spread to Iran’s 31 provinces, with all layers of society, including ethnic and religious minorities, taking part and many demanding Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s downfall.
Amnesty International has said a government crackdown on demonstrations has so far led to the death of at least 52 people, with hundreds injured. Rights groups say dozens of activists, students and artists have been detained.
In London, about 2,500 people staged a noisy protest in Trafalgar Square.
Few women among the mostly Iranian crowd agreed to be interviewed on camera, fearful of identification and reprisals by the authorities.
In central Paris, a crowd of several dozen people gathered to show support for Iranian protesters, holding Iranian flags and pictures of victims who have died in the protests.
Iran’s battered currency approached historic lows reached in June as desperate Iranians bought dollars to protect their savings amid little hope Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers would be revived and concerns over the economic consequences of the unrest.
The rial fell to 331,200 per U.S. dollar, compared to 321,200 on Friday, according to the foreign exchange site Bonbast.com. The currency had plummeted to an all-time low of 332,000 per dollar on June 12.
