Iran protest deaths mount as Tehran vows 'severe response' to shrine massacre

Iranian state media said at least 15 people were killed by a lone gunman at a Shiite Muslim shrine in Shiraz

People march in solidarity with protesters in Iran in front of the White House

Iranian protesters on Thursday defied a deadly crackdown by security forces against nearly six weeks of women-led protests, as Tehran vowed to punish those behind a mass shooting that killed 15 worshippers at a shrine.

In the latest violent bid to crush demonstrations sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody last month, security forces opened fire and killed "at least eight people" since Wednesday evening, according to Amnesty International.

"Iran's security forces killed at least eight people since last night as they again opened fire on mourners and protesters" in at least four provinces, Amnesty said, condemning the "reckless and unlawful use of firearms".

Ultra-conservative President Ebrahim Raisi appeared to link the two tragedies when he declared that "the intention of the enemy is to disrupt the country's progress, and then these riots pave the ground for terrorist acts".

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for united efforts against the "plot" by Iran's enemies.

The latest protests follow a massive ceremony Wednesday marking 40 days since Amini's death, held in her hometown of Saqez, Kurdistan province.

The protests sparked by Amini's death have been led by young women who have burned their headscarves and confronted security forces.

The Hengaw human rights group reported that security forces shot dead at least three people during protests in the western city of Mahabad and at least two others in Baneh, also in the west.

"We should not mourn for our youth, we should avenge them," they chanted, according to the Norway-based organisation that monitors violations in Kurdish-populated areas.

Online monitor NetBlocks later reported a "major internet disruption" in West Azerbaijan province "with high impact to Mahabad".

It added that the Guards had "disarmed the army forces" on Wednesday, according to witnesses, but did not elaborate.

"I'll kill, I'll kill, whoever killed my sister," they could be heard chanting, in a video HRANA posted on Twitter.

Protests continued into the night, with rights groups and social media channel 1500tasvir, which chronicles rights violations by Iran's security forces, posting footage of large crowds chanting in Tehran, Mashhad in Iran's northeast and other cities.

Some activists behind the daily protests over Amini's death, which have evolved into a broader campaign to end the Islamic republic founded in 1979, have raised suspicions over the timing of the Shiraz attack.

Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights says the security forces' crackdown on the Amini protests has cost the lives of at least 141 demonstrators, including at least 29 children.

On Wednesday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said her country would tighten its rules for entry to Iran, warning "there can be no 'business as usual' in bilateral relations with a state that treats its own citizens with such contempt".

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