How Iran’s protest movement has gained increasing momentum – a visual guide

Demonstrations initially focused on economic issues but as they have grown and become political the regime has responded with deadly force

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A protest movement in Iran that started as a small demonstration by shopkeepers in Tehran over a weakening currency has exploded into the largest nationwide uprising in years against the country's theocratic leaders.

Fearing a threat to its decades-old grip on the country, the government has responded with deadly force. Rights groups have reported that hundreds of people have been killed by security forces and the state-backed Basij militia.