Coverage Of Nationwide Protests In Iran On October 21

Nationwide protests called by activists in Iran started around noon in the capital Tehran and several other cities, in what has become a regular weekly schedule.

Anonymous activists calling themselves Tehran Youth have been calling for twice weekly demonstrations on Saturdays and Wednesdays, with mostly young people responding to the call.

The first gatherings were reported in Tehran’s universities, hotbed of youth protests in the country, in a movement largely led by the Z Generation.

But this Saturday there is a parallel large rally of Iranian in Europe taking place in Berlin, with people from distant part of the continent traveling to the German capital in what is expected to be a 50,000-strong protest.

Top Iranian political, military and religious figures have toughened their rhetoric against protesters in the past two days, with Friday Prayer Imams asking the government to show no mercy to “rioters”. This shows the shock felt by an authoritarian elite entrenched in power for 43 years that is adept in using full violence against wave of protests since 2009. A whole elite of a few thousand families representing clerics, military and political officials control 80 percent of Iran’s economy, imposing religious restrictions and presiding over deepening poverty for tens of millions of others.

After weeks of street protests, industrial and teachers’ strikes have begun, which herald more bad news for a governing system that has left no recourse for the populace to express its dissatisfaction.

For more than 10 days, strikes have been spreading in the oil, gas and petrochemical sectors in southern Iran, with signs that natural gas production providing 70 percent of domestic energy needs might have declined. Teachers have also called for a two-day strike on Saturday and Sunday.

Our live coverage below presented news and videos as we received them from Iran and also Berlin.

Our coverage last 8 hours and ended at 00:40 local time on Sunday.

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Someone shouting from an apartment complex at security forces below, "Bastards, this is the end."

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Protests in Tehran's working class district, Nazi Abad. The voice says "Tehran is ours. Who said it belongs to them."

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Security forces firing at protesters in the southwestern city of Dezful.

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A police kiosk set on fire in Orumiyeh (Urmia), northwest Iran with a Molotov cocktail.

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Special unit police forces dispersing people in Esfahan, not allowing any person to stop in the street.

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Residents of Tehran's Ekbatan district protest, chanting, "Women, Life, Liberty".

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Women protesting in Tehran by removing their headscarves and waving it to security forces.

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Protest early evening in Mazanderan province, northern Iran where people burned a police banner and set fire to a morality police kiosk.

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A teachers' union in Iran has published the names of 30 children killed during protests that started on September 16. Eleven children shot by security forces were from Zahedan, southeastern Iran, seven from Kurdish regions and three were Afghans living in Iran. The United Nations and human rights organizations had urged Tehran to stop assaults on children. Security forces have been raiding schools and beating and arresting students who showed any sign of dissent.

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Parts of Tehran turned into scenes resembling a war zone Saturday night. Tear gas blanket a street as security forces tried to disperse protesters.

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Another video from Dezful in southwestern Iran Saturday evening shows protesters marching and then gunshots ring out.

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Late evening and night time is the popular time for protests in Iran because darkness helps the protesters. This video is from Tehran Pars district east of the capital.

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Protest in the central city of Arak, where gunshots are heard and people start running.

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Protests in Mashhad earlier on Saturday. Due to internet disruption by the government, people are unable to easily access social media.

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Text reports say protests were underway late afternoon in the western city of Saqqez, with access to Internet blocked by the government and people not able to upload videos. Saqqez is the birthplace of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old woman who was killed at the hands of the 'hijab police in mid-September. Her death triggered the current protests.

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Protesters set up barricades on the roads in Mehabad, a mainly Kurdish town.

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Gunshots are heard in Dezful, in the oil-rich Khuzestan province.

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A new wave of protests as darkness fell in Iran on Saturday. The video below shows Shariati street in Tehran.

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First video of a protest after evening darkness in Tehran on Saturday.

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A woman climbed a pole at a busy intersection in Tehran removing her headscarf and chanting against Iran's ruler Ali Khamenei.

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A noisy protest in Tehran's downtown Lalehzar Avenue, with demonstrators chanting "death to the dictator".

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Retail businesses on strike near Karaj, 20 miles west of Tehran on Saturday.

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The full picture of a huge crowd of Iranians gathered for a rally in Berlin, Germany on Saturday afternoon can be seen in this video at around 15:00 local time.

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Reports from Tabriz, capital of West Azerbaijan province say fierce protests are taking place on Saturday afternoon, with "a war like" atmosphere. No details available yet about clashes with security forces, at 17:30 local time.

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In one part of Tehran protesters chant "Death to the dictator" early Saturday afternoon.

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The video below shows police attacking a protester in Mashhad, as plainclothesmen join the assault, while other protesters try to help their comrade.

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According to preliminary reports, tens of thousands of Iranians have gathered in Berlin, Germany, Saturday afternoon for a large protest demanding an end to authoritarian rule and respect for human rights in Iran. The photo below is from Reuters.

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This interesting video from the western city of Sanandaj shows the heavy presence of special forces, some carrying AK-47 assault rifles instead of the usual shotguns carried and used during protests. The video was taken Saturday morning apparently before any protests. Sanandak, a largely Kurdish city has been a hotbed of protests for more than a month.

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Student protest in Razi University of Kermanshah, western Iran.

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Students at Tehran's Technical University march and chant on campus Saturday morning.

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Students at the faculty of Art and Architecture in the University of Yazd chanting "Freedom, freedom" Saturday morning.

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Student protests Saturday morning in the University of Tehran.

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Student gathered on the campus of the University of Tabriz to protest. Just two ago there were large demonstrations in the northwestern city.

Another large protest by students of Tabriz Medical University Saturday morning.

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Protests around midday in Mashhad a religious center and second largest city in Iran.

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