Two killed as protests across Iran intensify

Female students in Tehran tell President Ebrahim Raisi to 'get lost' during his visit to Alzahra University

At least two people have died and 10 have been wounded as protests over the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody intensify across Iran.

One man was shot dead on Saturday while driving in the city of Sanandaj, according to the France-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network and the Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights.

The man was reportedly shot after honking the car's horn at the security forces in the street. Honking has become one of the ways activists have been expressing their anger at the authorities.

A second protester was killed when the security forces opened fire to disperse crowds in the city. Ten protesters were wounded, AP reported.

A general strike took place amid a heavy security presence.

A motorcycle on fire in Iran capital Tehran. Iran has been torn by the biggest wave of social unrest in almost three years, which has seen protesters, including university students and even young schoolgirls chant "Woman, Life, Freedom". All photos by AFP

People gather next to a burning motorcycle.

Iranian police patrol the streets.

More objects on fire in Tehran.

Motorcyclists pass a burning rubbish bin.

The protests began on September 17 at the funeral in Saqez of Mahsa Amini, 22.

Amini was arrested for wearing “inappropriate attire”.

They have turned into the ­biggest challenge to Iran’s clerical leaders in years, with protesters calling for the downfall of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Internet watchdog NetBlocks said access to the web had been cut in Sanandaj again amid the protests.

On Saturday, female students in Tehran had chanted "get lost" as President Ebrahim Raisi visited their university campus and condemned protesters.

Addressing professors and students at the Alzahra University in Tehran, he recited a poem that equated "rioters" with flies, Reuters reported.

A video posted on Twitter by the widely followed activist 1500tasvir account showed what it said were female students chanting "Raisi get lost" and "mullahs get lost" as the president visited their campus.

Another social media video showed students chanting "We don't want a corrupt guest", in reference to Mr Raisi.

Later on Saturday, hackers interrupted the evening news on Iran’s state TV for 15 seconds, just as footage of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was being broadcast.

Mr Khamenei's image was shown, surrounded by flames, next to the slogan "Arise and join us" and web addresses of the Edalat-e Ali hacker group.

The Norway-based Iran Human Rights group said at least 185 people had been killed in the protests, with the highest number of killings taking place in the restive south-eastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan.

A social media video showed protesters marching in the northern city of Babol. Several posts said the security forces had surrounded students demonstrating on a university campus.

One of the schools in Saqez city's square was filled with girls chanting "woman, life, freedom", Hengaw said.

The 1500tasvir Twitter account also reported shootings at protesters in the two north-western Kurdish cities.

A university student who was on his way to join protests in Tehran said he was not afraid of being arrested or even killed.

"They can kill us, arrest us but we will not remain silent any more. Our classmates are in jail. How can we remain silent?” the student, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters.

State media played down the protests across Tehran, reporting "limited" demonstrations in dozens of areas. One said many bazaar traders had shut their shops for fear of damage in the unrest, denying there was a strike.

A protest for Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's 'morality police', in Tehran. AFP

Demonstrators disperse during the protest for Amini, who died in a hospital in the capital Tehran on Friday. AFP

The crowd chanted 'Death to the dictator', meaning Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while some women took off their headscarves. AFP

A man pulls out a police motorcycle set on fire during the protest. Amini had been detained for violating the country's conservative dress code. AP

In recent months, rights activists have urged women to remove their veils in public, a gesture that would risk their arrest for defying a dress code as the country's rulers crack down on 'immoral behaviour'. AP

Iranians protest in Sanandaj, the capital of Iran's Kurdistan province, following the Amini's death while in custody. AFP

Iranian police officers clash with demonstrators in Tehran. Police said Amini fell into a coma as she waited with other detained women at a morality police station, rejecting allegations that she was probably beaten. AFP

Videos shared on social media showed protests in several major cities.

One video showed a young woman lying unconscious on the ground after she was apparently shot in the north-eastern city of Mashhad.