TEHRAN,
New rallies have erupted across several major Iranian cities, with protesters denouncing the Islamic Republic and the son of Iran’s ousted shah calling on demonstrators to seize and hold city centres.
The protests, now entering their third week, represent one of the most serious challenges to Iran’s clerical leadership since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Despite an ongoing nationwide internet blackout, videos and images verified by news agencies and shared on social media suggest large crowds took to the streets late on Friday.
Monitoring group NetBlocks said early on Saturday that Iran’s internet shutdown had remained in place for at least 36 hours, raising concerns among activists that the blackout could be used to conceal a violent crackdown.
In Tehran’s Saadatabad district, footage showed residents banging pots from balconies and chanting anti-government slogans, including calls against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while drivers honked horns in apparent support.
Similar scenes were reported in other parts of the capital, as well as in Mashhad in the east, Tabriz in the north, and the holy city of Qom. Videos circulating online also appeared to show protesters gathering in the western city of Hamedan, where one individual waved a pre-revolutionary Iranian flag bearing the lion and sun emblem.
In northern Tehran’s Pounak district, footage showed people dancing around a fire in the middle of a highway, while in Mashhad’s Vakilabad area, demonstrators were seen marching along a major avenue chanting slogans against Iran’s leadership. Not all footage could be independently verified.
Calls to seize city centres
Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran’s last monarch, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, praised what he described as a “magnificent” turnout and urged Iranians to move beyond spontaneous demonstrations.
“Our goal is no longer just to take to the streets,” he said in a video message posted on social media. “The goal is to prepare to seize and hold city centres.”
Pahlavi, whose father was overthrown in the 1979 revolution and died in exile a year later, also said he was preparing to return to Iran, suggesting the opportunity was “very near”.
Iranian authorities regard Pahlavi as a symbol of foreign-backed opposition and have repeatedly accused outside powers of trying to destabilise the country.
Rising death toll and fears of crackdown
Human rights groups say the unrest has already claimed dozens of lives. The Norway-based Iran Human Rights organisation said at least 51 people have been killed so far during the protests.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi warned that the internet blackout could enable security forces to carry out widespread violence away from public scrutiny. She said there were fears of a “massacre under the cover of a sweeping communications blackout”.
Iranian officials, however, say members of the security forces have also been killed and accuse protesters of violence and vandalism.
In a televised address on Friday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei struck a defiant tone, vowing that the Islamic Republic would “not back down” and blaming the unrest on the United States. Other senior officials echoed his claims of foreign interference.
International reaction
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would not rule out further military action against Iran, following Washington’s support for Israel during a 12-day conflict with Iran in June.
“Iran’s in big trouble,” Trump said. “It looks to me that the people are taking over certain cities that nobody thought was really possible just a few weeks ago.”
Asked what message he had for Iran’s leaders, Trump added, “You better not start shooting because we’ll start shooting too.”
The situation remains volatile, with uncertainty over how Iran’s leadership will respond as protests continue despite security measures and communication restrictions.
