Iran's Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said 42,000 people had taken part in the nationwide protests.
It was a higher figure than the 15,000 given by the head of the IRGC yesterday, but still far below the hundreds of thousands that took to the streets during the last major protests in 2009.
A group of Iranians gathered outside Iran's embassy in Dublin on January 3 to express support for anti-establishment protesters in the country:
Father of student Soheil Aghazadeh who was arrested today in Tehran post on Twitter a photo of his son and writes: "My son, I'm waiting for you...You don't belong in prison. You are my everything."
The semiofficial ILNA news agency says Instagram has been unblocked in Iran. Telegram remains filtered, the report says.
Statement by Amnesty International:
Iran: Stop increasingly ruthless crackdown and investigate deaths of protesters
Iranian authorities must ensure the right to peaceful protest, investigate reports that security forces have unlawfully used firearms against unarmed protesters and protect hundreds of detainees from torture and other ill-treatment, Amnesty International said on January 4 amid concerns that the crackdown against demonstrations that have spread across Iran in the past week is intensifying.
“Law enforcement officials have the right to defend themselves, and a duty to protect the safety of the public. However, reports of the use of firearms against unarmed protesters by security forces are deeply troubling and would contravene Iran’s human rights obligations under international law,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“The Iranian government must promptly launch an effective and independent investigation into the killings and other reports of excessive or unnecessary force, and bring all those responsible for human rights violations to justice.”