Pro-government rallies in Iran as unrest continues

Iranian state media aired pro-government demonstrations on Wednesday as anti-regime protests have engulfed the country the past week and left at least 21 dead.

Press TV broadcast the protests live, saying they were to "protest the violence that has taken place over the last few nights in cities".

Demonstrators waved Iranian flags and signs supporting the Iranian government.

Pro-regime rallies were held across several towns and cities - reflecting continued support among a large conservative section of society.

According to state TV, the demonstrations took place in at least 10 cities, including Ahvaz, the capital of the oil-rich province of Khuzestan, the Kurdish town of Kermanshah in the country's west and Qom, the religions capital of Shia Islam in Iran.

Unrest begins

Protests began on Thursday in the north-eastern city of Mashhad, with anti-government rallies quickly spreading to other cities including Tehran, Khorramabad, Karaj and Sabzevar.

Thousands are thought to have taken part in the protests, making them the biggest show of public defiance since 2009, when Iranians - as part of the newly-formed Green Movement - took to the streets to denounce alleged rigged presidential elections by then-President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad.

The protests this time were initially centred around rising living costs, but quickly became focused against the regime in general with chants of "Death to the dictator".

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Monday blamed the unrest on Iran's arch enemies, the United States and Israel according to Iranian state media.

"Our success in the political arena against the United States and the Zionist regime was unbearable to (Iran's enemies). Iran's success in the region was unbearable to them. Don't you expect that they would seek revenge? Don't you think they would provoke some people?" Rouhani was quoted as saying in a meeting with lawmakers.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei echoed Rouhani on Tuesday and blamed the days of protest on meddling by the "enemies of Iran".

"The enemies have united and are using all their means, money, weapons, policies and security services to create problems for the Islamic regime," the supreme leader said.

"The enemy is always looking for an opportunity and any crevice to infiltrate and strike the Iranian nation."

The foreign ministry in Tehran also lashed out at US President Donald Trump after his latest Twitter attack on the Iranian authorities over the protests, insisting he should focus on "homeless and hungry people" in his own country.

Crackdown on dissent

The head of Tehran's revolutionary court, Moussa Ghazanfarabadi, warned that as violence grows punishments for demonstrators would get "heavier".

"We no longer consider them as protesters demanding rights, but as people targeting the regime," he told the conservative Tasnim news agency.

In an attempt to shut down protests and manage the unrest, Iran’s government blocked access to the encrypted Telegram messaging app and the photo-sharing app Instagram, which now join Facebook and Twitter in being banned.

"Iranian authorities are blocking access to Telegram for the majority of Iranians after our public refusal to shut down … peacefully protesting channels," Pavel Durov, Telegram CEO, wrote.

Iran's state TV news website, iribnews.ir, quoted an anonymous source saying that social media in Iran would be temporarily limited as a safety measure.

"With a decision by the Supreme National Security Council, activities of Telegram and Instagram are temporarily limited," the report said, without elaborating.

A total of 21 people have so far died since protests began and some 450 have been arrested in the past three days.

Rouhani came to power in 2013 promising to mend the economy and ease social tensions, but high living costs and a 12 percent unemployment rate have left many feeling that progress is too slow.

The young are most affected, with as many as 40 percent out of work according to analysts, and rural areas particularly hard-hit.