Iran protests - latest: Iranian forces kill three in fresh crackdown on protesters

At least three more demonstrators have been killed by Iranian security forces during a rally following the funeral for another protester.

Hengaw, a human-rights group, said the security officers shot dead at least three protesters in the city of Mahabad near Iran’s western border with Iraq on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, the UN human-rights office has voiced concern about Iran’s treatment of detained protesters and said authorities were refusing to release some of the bodies of those killed.

“We’ve seen a lot of ill treatment...but also harassment of the families of protesters,” Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said, citing multiple sources.

She added that in some cases, authorities were withholding the bodies of dead protesters from families or only releasing them on condition that they do not hold a funeral or speak to the media.

Tensions continue to mount in Iran as protests against the death of Mahsa Amini entered the 42nd day. Demonstrators attempted to break into government offices in Mahabad yesterday after the death of 35-year-old protester Ismaeil Mauludi.

According to Hengaw, at least three citizens — identified as Keyvan Darvishi, Mohammad Lotfolahi, and Mohammad Shariati — were killed.

Key Points

• Regime withholding bodies of dead protesters, UN says

• Killers will be punished, vows supreme leader

• Supreme leader and president link protests to murders

• German ambassador summoned over ‘interference'

How Iranians united on a night of dramatic protest against the regime

13:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Wednesday night’s protests turned out to be a watershed moment for the Iranian opposition to the Islamic Republic.

Despite the regime having calculated that public anger would fizzle out, demonstrators came out in their largest numbers ever, including potentially tens of thousands in the country’s mostly Kurdish western areas who made their way to 22-year-old Mahsa Amini’s grave.

The Independent’s Borzou Daragahi reports:

How dramatic protests became a watershed moment for the Iranian regime

Iran's elite Sharif University of Technology becomes protest hub

12:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta

As demonstrations have swept across Iran — first sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country’s morality police last month — the scientific powerhouse known as “Iran’s MIT” has emerged as an unexpected hub for protest, fueling Iran’s biggest antigovernment movement in over a decade.

The Sharif University of Technology is Iran’s elite technical school and boasts of several high profile alumni.

In the last month, protests have flared nearly every day for the past month at Sharif University.

Read this report by the Associated Press:

Iran's elite technical university emerges as hub of protests

ICYMI: Thousands gather in Mahsa Amini’s hometown to commemorate 40 days since her death

11:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Thousands of people have flocked to the hometown of Mahsa Amini to mark 40 days since her death in the custody of Iran’s morality police.

This footage shows a long line of people making their way to the memorial at her grave in Saqqez on Wednesday, 26 October.

Watch:

Thousands gather in Mahsa Amini’s hometown to commemorate 40 days since her death

Iran withholding bodies of protesters from families, UN says

10:38 , Matt Mathers

The UN human rights office on Friday voiced concern about Iran’s treatment of detained protesters and said that authorities were refusing to release some of the bodies of those killed.

"We’ve seen a lot of ill treatment...but also harassment of the families of protesters," Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, told a Geneva press briefing, citing multiple sources.

She added that in some cases, authorities were withholding the bodies of dead protesters from families or only releasing them on condition that they do not hold a funeral or speak to the media.

Iran determined to make progress despite ‘plot’, president says

10:15 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi vowed on Thursday that the country will defeat enemies, as it remains strongly determined to continue on the path of progress, state media IRNA reported.

His statement came in response to Wednesday’s attack on Shia pilgrims that has been claimed by Isis.

Mr Raisi said while the group may have claimed the attack, the question remains about who created the terror group and supports it in order to sow discord among countries in West Asia.

He accused the US of creating Isis and said that it raises questions about its commitment to human rights.

We are watching a revolution take place in Iran

09:45 , Sravasti Dasgupta

“The young people of Iran are on the march once again. In 1979, the Islamic Republic was the result of a righteous revolution, though hardly the democratic state many then dreamed of; now it could be overthrown by another uprising, one fuelled by the right kind of moral fervour among the young.”

Read The Independent’s editorial here:

Editorial: We are watching a revolution take place in Iran

Protests continue in Iran

09:15 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Human rights group Hengaw has released footage of protests in Iran on Friday.

Shots of gunfire along with slogans can be heard in the footage.

Dead body found at Frankfurt airport in aircraft from Tehran

08:45 , Sravasti Dasgupta

A dead body was found in the undercarriage of a Lufthansa aircraft that arrived at Frankfurt airport from Tehran yesterday, Reuters reported citing German daily Bild.

The body was found by workers after the passengers of flight LH 601 had left the aircraft and the A340 had been moved to a hangar for maintenance.

According to Lufthansa’s website the same flight scheduled for Friday has been cancelled.

The incident comes amid widespread protests in Iran triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last month.

Protesters attempt to break into government offices

08:16 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Demonstrators attempted to break into government offices in Mahabad and surrounded the governor’s office yesterday after the death of a 35-year-old protester Ismaeil Mauludi, reported Sky News.

Mauludi was killed during Wednesday’s demonstrations, according to human rights group Hengaw.

The group said that at least 3 citizens, identified as 18-year-old Keyvan Darvishi, Mohammad Lotfolahi, and Mohammad Shariati, were killed yesterday.

Shots heard as demonstrations continue

Thursday 27 October 2022 16:05 , Jane Dalton

Protests continued today, particularly in the northwestern city of Mahabad, 320 miles from the capital, Tehran.

There, online videos purported to show demonstrators at offices for the city’s governors, with shots heard in the background. Others purported to show a building ablaze.

Iran‘s state-run IRNA news agency said that “rioters” had damaged public property, including breaking the windows of some banks and a tax administration office.

The protests appeared to be sparked by the death of a man from gunshot wounds overnight.

A Kurdish human-rights group posted video it described as the man’s funeral before the demonstrations began.

It later said two others had been killed in demonstrations on Thursday in Mahabad by security forces firing at protesters. Authorities did not immediately acknowledge it.

It also said the sound of gunshots echoed through the city of Baneh, some 50 miles south of Mahabad, amid demonstrations as well.

Iranian ex-president defends right to protest

Thursday 27 October 2022 15:40 , Jane Dalton

A former Iranian president has warned that “violence cannot be answered with violence”, as he defended people’s right to demonstrate.

Mohammad Khatami’s name and image have been banned in Iranian media since 2015 over his reformist political views, which call for changing the Islamic Republic from within.

“If (the people) see that the conditions of this life are not provided (by the government), they have the right to criticise and even protest,” Mr Khatami said.

‘This is a revolution’: Protests mark 40 days since death

Thursday 27 October 2022 15:25 , Jane Dalton

In case you missed it:

Tens of thousands of Iranians across the country defied phalanxes of security forces to march and protest against the clerical regime on Wednesday, the religiously potent and politically symbolic 40th day since the death of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the morality police, writes Borzou Daragahi:

‘This is a revolution’: 40 days after Mahsa Amini’s death, protests erupt across Iran

German ambassador summoned over ‘interference'

Thursday 27 October 2022 15:19 , Jane Dalton

Iran has summoned Germany’s ambassador, accusing Berlin of interfering in the Islamic Republic’s internal affairs.

“Some European countries, contrary to their international commitments in fighting terrorism, have become sponsors of terrorist groups,” said Iran‘s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ali Bagheri Kani, in comments reported by the semi-official Fars news agency.

Killers will be punished, says Khamenei

Thursday 27 October 2022 15:18 , Jane Dalton

Iran’s supreme leader has said the killers at a mosque gun attack “will surely be punished”.

In a statement read on state TV, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said: “We all have a duty to deal with the enemy and its traitorous or ignorant agents.”

Khamenei’s call for unity appeared to be directed at mostly government loyalists and not protesters whose nearly six-week-old movement is seen by authorities as a threat to national security.

Iranian protesters have called for the death of Khamenei.

Islamic State admitted it had killed 15 worshippers. The attack was at Shiraz’s Shah Cheragh mosque, the second-holiest site in Iran.

Gunman seen in video

Thursday 27 October 2022 15:09 , Jane Dalton

Footage released by Iranian authorities shows a gunman with a large backpack, walking near the mosque where 15 people were killed, then later moving inside with a Kalashnikov-style assault rifle.

Barefoot worshippers inside try to flee as the man opens fire, then hunts those hiding behind whatever they could find. Blood could be seen on the mosque’s floor.

Riot police later captured the man, whom authorities have yet to identify.

The Islamic State group said it carried out the attack, saying an armed IS militant stormed the shrine and opened fire on visitors.

Supreme leader and president link protests to deadly gun attack

Thursday 27 October 2022 15:04 , Jane Dalton

Iran‘s supreme leader and its president have tried to link nationwide protests to an Islamic State-claimed gun attack on a mosque in which 15 people were killed.

Iran‘s theocracy has been unable to contain the demonstrations, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after her detention by the country’s morality police.

More than 200 people have been killed amid a crackdown in Iran, with thousands others arrested by police, activists say.

On Wednesday, a gunman opened fire on worshippers at Shiraz’s Shah Cheragh mosque, the second-holiest site in Iran.

State media said at least 15 people had been killed in the assault, which authorities initially attributed to multiple gunmen.

President Ebrahim Raisi described the ongoing protests as “riots” that allowed for the shooting.

Mr Khamenei blamed the attack on a “plot of the enemies”.

“We all have duties to deal a blow to the warmongering enemy and its treacherous and foolish cohorts,” he reportedly said.

“All our people ranging from the security bodies and the judiciary body and activists in the field of media must be united against the wave that disregards and disrespects people’s lives, their security and their sacred things.”