A human rights organization warned on Sunday that Iranian authorities were committing a “massacre” to quell the demonstrations, the country’s biggest movement against the Islamic republic in more than three years, as an internet blackout sustained.
The protests, initially sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, have now become a movement against the theocratic regime that has ruled Iran since the 1979 revolution and have already lasted two weeks.
Video verified by AFP showed large crowds taking to the streets in new protests on Saturday night in several Iranian cities including Tehran and Mashhad in the east, where images showed vehicles set on fire.
The US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said it had received “eyewitness accounts and credible reports indicating that hundreds of protesters have been killed across Iran during the current internet shutdown”.
“A massacre is unfolding in Iran. The world must act now to prevent further loss of life,” it added.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian will address economic plans and “people’s demands” in an interview on Sunday, after two weeks of protests sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, state TV said. (AFP)
