The exiled son of the deposed shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, has spoken in support of demonstrations across the country, calling for strikes across the vital energy sector to begin. "We will completely bring the Islamic Republic... to its knees," he wrote on X.
Mr Pahlavi, who is believed to live in Washington, was in the US when his father was removed as Iran's shah in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
A divisive figure, Mr Pahlavi is considered by some as heavily influenced by Washington, but also viewed as a potential alternative power figure in Iran's diaspora.
Demonstrations, now entering a third week, have spread to all of Iran’s 31 provinces, including the capital, Tehran, where another large street protest was under way on Saturday evening. Heritage centres such as Mashhad, a major religious pilgrimage city for Shiite Muslims, have also been affected. Explosions, shootings, arsons and fierce responses by security forces have been reported in many places in recent days.
The latest unrest marks the largest public disturbance faced by the Iranian regime in almost four years. Tehran has repeatedly accused "American and Israeli mercenaries" of involvement in the demonstrations and vandalism.
"Last night, American and Israeli mercenaries set fire to the holy shrine of Hazrat Sabzqaba, several banks and mosques and caused great damage to public property in Dezful," the semi-official Tasnim news agency said on Saturday.
Hengaw, a rights group based in Norway, estimated that as of Thursday security forces had killed at least 45 protesters since the demonstrations began on December 28. Other organisations estimated the toll as higher.
The UN's human rights chief Volker Turk said he was "deeply disturbed" by the violence, calling for "inclusive and meaningful dialogue" to address people's grievances.
US President Donald Trump, who bombed Iran last summer and warned Tehran last week the US could come to the protesters' aid, issued another warning on Friday, saying: "You better not start shooting because we'll start shooting, too."
"I just hope the protesters in Iran are going to be safe, because that's a very dangerous place right now," he added.
Mr Trump said on Thursday he was not inclined to meet Mr Pahlavi.
Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has condemned alleged foreign influences behind the demonstrations, saying among them was the US President, who he told to "manage your own country".
On Saturday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X that "the United States supports the brave people of Iran".
When the protests began, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo congratulated the people of Iran and "every Mossad agent walking beside them".
On Saturday, Iran accused a militant group, the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), of killing a policeman in the western city of Ilam during the protests.
Eight members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were also killed in Kermanshah by the PJAK forces, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Saturday.
Ilam, the third largest city in Iran's Kurdish region, has become one of the centres of the nationwide protests sparked by economic hardship. Several Kurdish protesters have been killed as security forces opened fire on protesters, human rights groups say.
Internet access on mobile devices continued to be limited, according to several social media accounts that routinely track such developments.
Cloudflare Radar, which monitors internet traffic on behalf of the tech company Cloudflare, said on Thursday that IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6), a standard widely used for mobile infrastructure, was affected in Iran. Data from the website showed that the issue persisted throughout Friday.
In London, social media video showed a man on the balcony of the Iranian embassy pulling down the flag and replacing it with the pre-Islamic revolution lion and sun flag. Police said that arrests had been made during the demonstration.
