Both the semi-official Fars news agency and human rights group, Hengaw, said two people had died during clashes between protesters and security forces in the city of Lordegan, in south-western Iran. Three more people were killed in Azna and another in Kouhdasht, Fars reported, all in the west of the country.

As the U.S. and Israel back Iranians' right to protest against their leaders, authorities in Tehran detain students and declare a sudden holiday.

Demonstrations sparked by Iran's struggling economy have spread into rural provinces, with at least seven people killed.

It was only a matter of time until such gloom gave rise to another round of mass protest. The only question was what would trigger it. It came from an unlikely corner on December 28th, when electronics vendors in Tehran went on strike.

Beginning as a strike by “shopkeepers and bazaar merchants” over the rampant devaluation of Iran ’s rial currency, the growing protests have since become an “outcry of political anger,” said DW. The Tehran bazaar is seen as a “political early warning system and a potential multiplier,

Anti-regime protests entered a fifth day as demonstrations spread across Tehran and other cities, with reports of deaths emerging amid escalating nationwide unrest.

Among the real images being shared we’re also seeing footage that has been faked or enhanced using artificial intelligence. Some of these images are being shared widely - we’ll bring you more on how we’re checking for signs of AI use as part of our verification work.

Pahlavi fled Iran in 1979 amid violent demonstrations against his rule. Now, 47 years after his rule ended, protests have broken out again in Iran. A clip of the interview, which