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Fresh protests in Iran as internet blackout persists
Anti-government chants filled the streets of Iran's capital on Saturday night, as protesters pressed the biggest movement against the Islamic republic in more than three years despite a deadly crackdown under cover of an internet blackout.
The two weeks of demonstrations have posed one of the biggest challenges to the theocratic authorities who have ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution, although supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has expressed defiance and blamed the United States.
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday his country was "ready to help" the movement, a day after warning Iran was in "big trouble" and reiterating that he could order new military action after Washington backed and joined Israel's 12-day war against the Islamic republic in June.
"Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The demonstrations sparked by severe economic pressures have swelled and turned to ousting the clerical authorities.
Crowds gathered again on Saturday in the north of the Iranian capital, setting off fireworks and banging pots as they shouted slogans in support of the ousted monarchy, according to video verified by AFP.
Videos shared on social media that AFP could not immediately verify independently showed demonstrations in other parts of the capital where protesters shouted anti-government slogans.
Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran's deposed shah, had urged Iranians to stage more targeted protests on Saturday and Sunday after hailing mass protests on Friday.
"Our goal is no longer just to take to the streets. The goal is to prepare to seize and hold city centres," Pahlavi said in a video message on social media.
Iranian authorities had called for "restraint" and announced measures to try to address grievances in the days after protests broke out on December 28, but hardened their line as they persisted.
Rights groups expressed alarm on Saturday that authorities were intensifying a deadly crackdown under the cover of an internet blackout that has lasted 48 hours, according to monitor Netblocks.
- 'Not safe' -
Amnesty International said it was analysing "distressing reports that security forces have intensified their unlawful use of lethal force against protesters" since Thursday.
Norway-based Iran Human Rights group has said at least 51 people have been killed in the crackdown so far, warning the actual toll could be higher.
It posted images it said were of bodies of people shot dead in the protests on the floor of Alghadir hospital in eastern Tehran.
"These images provide further evidence of the excessive and lethal use of force against protesters," IHR said.
On Friday in Tehran's Saadatabad district, chanted anti-government slogans including "death to Khamenei" as cars honked in support, a video verified by AFP showed.
Other images disseminated on social media and by Persian-language television channels outside Iran showed similarly large protests elsewhere in the capital, as well as in the eastern city of Mashhad, Tabriz in the north and the holy city of Qom.
In the western city of Hamedan, a man was shown waving a shah-era Iranian flag featuring the lion and the sun amid fires and people dancing.
The same flag briefly replaced the current Iranian flag over the country's embassy in London, when protesters managed to reach the building's balcony, witnesses told AFP.
On Thursday and Friday, an AFP journalist in Tehran saw streets deserted and plunged into darkness ahead of any protests.
"The area is not safe," said a cafe manager as he prepared to close the shop at around 4:00 pm.
An AFP reporter saw shop windows broken, as well as security forces deploying.
- 'Price to pay' -
Authorities say several members of the security forces have been killed, and Khamenei in a defiant speech on Friday lashed out at "vandals" and accused the United States of fuelling the protests.
State TV on Saturday broadcast images of funerals for several members of the security forces killed in the protests, including a large gathering in the southern city of Shiraz.
It also aired images of buildings, including a mosque, on fire.
Iran's army said in a statement that it would "vigorously protect and safeguard national interests" against an "enemy seeking to disrupt order and peace".
Global leaders have urged restraint from Iranian authorities, with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen saying Europe backed Iranians' mass protests and condemned the "violent repression" against the demonstrators.
On Saturday, the start of the working week in Iran, one man in Tehran said he was unable to check his work email.
"This is the price to pay before the victory of the people," he said.
D.Mayer--BlnAP
