Protests over the economic crisis and against the religious leader Ali Khamenei are spreading to major cities in Iran, while the son of the deposed Shah calls for targeted demonstrations over the weekend and the “seizure” of cities.
Large gatherings were held on Friday evening in major cities, according to images verified by the French Press Agency and other videos shared on social media.
This occurred despite an internet shutdown imposed by authorities, with Netblocks reporting early on Saturday that the nationwide blackout remains in effect.
In Tehran’s Saadatabad district, protesters were banging pots and shouting anti-government slogans.
Burning for change
Similar large demonstrations took place in other parts of the capital, as well as in the eastern city of Mashhad, in Tabriz in the north, and in the holy city of Qom. In the western city of Hamedan, a man was seen waving a pre-revolutionary Iranian flag featuring the lion and sun amid fires, with people dancing nearby.
In Punak in northern Iran, people were seen dancing around a fire in the middle of a highway, while in Vakilabad in Mashhad, which hosts some of Shiite Islam’s holiest sites, protesters marched along a boulevard shouting “Death to Khamenei.”
Reza Pahlavi, son of the deposed Shah of Iran and based in the US, praised the “magnificent” turnout on Friday and urged Iranians to stage more targeted protests over the weekend.
“Our goal is no longer simply to take to the streets. The goal is to prepare for the occupation and control of city centres,” Pahlavi said in a video message posted on social media.
Pahlavi prepares for return
Pahlavi, whose father, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was overthrown in the 1979 revolution and died in 1980, added that he is “preparing to return to his homeland” at a moment he believes is “very close.”
Activists have expressed concern that the internet shutdown could allow authorities to suppress the protests.
The Norway-based Iran Human Rights group has stated that at least 51 people have been killed so far in the crackdown.
Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi warned on Friday that security forces may be preparing a “massacre under the cover of a sweeping telecommunications blackout.”
Govt blames US
Authorities report that many security personnel have also been killed, and Khamenei, in a defiant speech on Friday, attacked “vandals” and vowed that the Islamic Republic “will not yield.”
He accused the United States of inciting the unrest, remarks echoed by several other Iranian officials.
US President Donald Trump once again declined on Friday to rule out further military action against Iran, after Washington supported and joined Israel’s 12-day war against the Islamic Republic in June.