Mass protests continue in Iran. Protesters call for the overthrow of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the return of Reza Pahlavi

Peaceful demonstrations in Tehran and the country's second-largest city, Mashhad, were not dispersed by security forces on Thursday evening. This is visible in footage verified by BBC Persian.

Later, one of the monitoring groups reported a nationwide internet shutdown.

Protesters are calling for the overthrow of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the return of Reza Pahlavi — the exiled son of the former Shah, who had previously urged his supporters to take to the streets.

This was the 12th consecutive day of unrest, sparked by outrage over the collapse of the Iranian currency. According to human rights organizations, protests have spread to more than 100 cities and towns in all 31 provinces of Iran.

The American agency Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) reported that at least 34 protesters, including five children, and eight security forces personnel have been killed. Another 2,270 protesters have been arrested.

The Norway-based monitoring organization Iran Human Rights (IHR) stated that at least 45 protesters, including eight children, were killed by security forces.

BBC Persian confirmed the deaths and identities of 22 people, while Iranian authorities reported the deaths of six security force personnel.

On Thursday evening, videos posted on social media and verified by BBC Persian showed a large crowd of protesters moving along a main road in Mashhad, in the northeast of the country.

Chants of "Long live the Shah" and "This is the last battle! Pahlavi will return" are heard. At one point, several men climb onto an overpass and remove what are presumably surveillance cameras.

Another video showed a large column of protesters walking along a main road in eastern Tehran.

Footage sent to BBC Persian from the northern districts of the capital also showed shouts of "This is the last battle! Pahlavi will return." In other parts of the city's north, protesters chanted "Shame" and "Don't be afraid, we are all together" after clashes with security forces.

Other videos captured slogans like "Death to the dictator" (referring to Khamenei) in the central city of Isfahan; "Long live the Shah" in the northern city of Babol; and "Don't be afraid, we are all together" in the northwestern city of Tabriz.

In the western city of Dezful, a video sent to BBC Persian showed a large crowd of protesters, as well as security forces who appeared to open fire from the central square.

The evening protests came shortly after Reza Pahlavi, whose father was overthrown during the 1979 Islamic Revolution and who now lives in Washington, called on Iranians to "take to the streets and voice their demands in a united front."

In a post on social media platform X, Pahlavi stated that "tonight millions of Iranians demanded their freedom," calling the protesters "my brave compatriots."

He thanked US President Donald Trump for "holding the regime accountable" and urged European leaders to do the same.

Pahlavi also called for protests to continue on Friday evening, starting at 8:00 PM local time.

Iranian state media downplayed the scale of Thursday's unrest. In some cases, they completely denied that protests took place, publishing videos of empty streets.

Meanwhile, internet watchdog NetBlocks reported that its data indicated Iran "is in the midst of a nationwide internet shutdown."

"This incident marks a continuation of an intensifying series of digital censorship targeting protests across the country, impeding the public's right to communication at a critical moment," the organization warned, referencing earlier communication blackouts in several cities.

Earlier in the day, videos from Lamard – a small town in the western Ilam province – showed a crowd chanting: "Cannons, tanks, fireworks – the mullahs must go," referring to the clerical establishment. Another video showed people throwing papers into the air near a bank, which appeared to have been raided.

Other footage showed closed shops in several predominantly Kurdish towns and cities in the Ilam, Kermanshah, and Lorestan provinces.

This followed a call for a general strike issued by exiled Kurdish opposition groups in response to the deadly crackdown on protests in the region.

According to the Kurdish human rights organization Hengaw, at least 17 protesters, many of whom belonged to the Kurdish or Lur ethnic minorities, were killed by security forces during the unrest in Ilam, Kermanshah, and Lorestan.

On Wednesday, severe clashes between protesters and security forces occurred in several cities and towns in western Iran, as well as in other regions.

IHR stated that it was the deadliest day of the unrest so far, with 13 protester deaths confirmed nationwide.

"The evidence shows that the scale of repression is becoming harsher and more widespread with each passing day," said the organization's head, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.

Hengaw reported that two protesters were shot dead by security forces in Khoshk-e Bijar, in the northern Gilan province, on Wednesday evening.

The semi-official Iranian Fars news agency, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that three police officers also died on Wednesday.

According to their reports, two were shot by armed individuals among the "rioters" in the southwestern city of Lordegan, and a third was stabbed "while attempting to control the unrest" in the Malard area, west of Tehran.

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