Coverage Of Nationwide Protests In Iran On September 29

As protests in Iran continue Thursday, anecdotal information points to Saturday, when rallies have been called to take place in the center of the capital Tehran.

Activists believe the daytime protest on Saturday, at the beginning of the week in Iran, will show the power of their movement. So far, most protests have started in the evening hours lasting till midnight.

Images and reports also say that some women have already shed their hijab and appear in the streets without a headscarf, not just in Tehran but even in other locations.

Another development is that calls for commercial strikes seem to have produced results, as shops closed in some areas on Thursday. Activists are urging workers and businesses to go on strike to put more pressure on the government.

Authorities have arrested around 20 journalists and several celebrities who have voiced support for the protests.

State television is organizing relatively open debates focused on the issue of hijab, trying to portray the protests as a single-issue movement, while protesters everywhere are calling for a regime change, chanting against dictatorship and the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Some observers have commented that the regime is concerned about the situation as protests pop up in many cities and towns and security forces show signs of fatigue after almost two weeks of daily protests.

International pressure is also increasing, especially from European leaders and government. Germany is reported to be seeking European Union human rights sanctions on individuals involved in suppressing dissent. A report in the Washington Free Beacon on Wednesday also said that the Biden Administration regards the nuclear talks with Iran as having failed.

We will update information on protests Thursday night in Iran, starting at 21:00 local time.

Iran International cannot verify the full authenticity or details of videos posted on Twitter, but we use our best judgement to share what we believe is not disinformation.

Our live coverage of Thursday protests ended at 01:15 local time on Friday.

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A new video from Sanandaj in western Iran. Protesters are in the streets as gun shots ring out.

A woman in Yasooj, Ilam Province in southwest, shved her head during protests on Thursday. Security forces used firearms and arrested her. She was taken to an unknown location.

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Young protesters in the streets of Qom, the most important Shiite religious city in Iran where the main seminaries are located. They are chanting, "Don't fear anything, We are together".

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Another video from Qom showing tear gas being fired at protesters.

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Gunshots are heard in the western city of Sanandaj. Video quality is poor but the screams point to possibly protesters getting hurt.

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Demonstrators pulled down a propganda banner in the northern city of Noshahr Thursday evening and cheered.

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"Justice, Freedom, Hijab by choise" was a slogan chanted in a demonstration on Thursday in the religious city of Mashhad. Interestingly, some women with full hijab were among the protesters.

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A video shows two homemade explosive devices thrown at the Prisons' Organization headquarters in Tehran at 22:00 on Wednesday.

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Security forces Thursday raided the home of famous former football (soccer) player Hossein Mahini to arrest him but he was not home. They confiscated all the electronic equipment of the family.

Former member of Iran's national football team Hossein Mahini

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Large protest in Kermanshah, a provincial center in western Iran. Crowds are chanting that Khamenei's son will never succeed his father, after rumors that the top leadership has been grooming Mojtaba Khamenei to become Supreme Leader after his ailing 83-year-old father dies.

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Protesters in Sanandaj, Kurdish-populated city in western Iran, chanting "Death to Khamenei".

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There is visual evidence of businesses shutting their doors in protest. Activists have been calling for strikes to put further pressure on the government. The picture below is from district of shoemakers in Tehran but there were also commercial strikes in Esfahan.

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The video below shows all businesses closed on Amir-Kabir Boulevard in Esfahan on Thursday.

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Funeral of a protester killed in Rasht that took place on Thursday. Mourners are performing a religious ceremony by beating their chests.

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One technique people use to amplify the protests is for people who drive honking horns. It is difficult for security forces to identify which car is honking in a street full of traffic.

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Protest in the northern city of Rasht Thursday evening, with possible clashes taking place neaby with security forces.