Fresh protests erupted across Iran as demonstrations entered a fourteenth day despite a nationwide internet blackout and deadly crackdowns. Rights groups warn of rising deaths, while protesters demand an end to clerical rule.

For a third night in a row, nationwide antigovernment protests rocked Iran, according to witnesses and videos verified by The New York Times, posted on BBC Persian and social media, even as the government intensified its crackdown and the military said it would take to the streets in response to the unrest.

Conflicting accounts have emerged from Iran as activist groups claim protesters seized control of Abdanan and Malekshahi, while Iranian officials insist security forces have restored order. Clashing Narratives From Protest Hotspots Rights groups and exiled opposition organizations say large crowds poured into the streets of Abdanan and Malekshahi in Ilam province this week,

Protests in Iran are intensifying due to the country's struggling economy, putting pressure on its theocracy as it has shut down the internet and telephone networks.

In a serious challenge to Iran’s authoritarian government, angry protests have spread from the markets and universities of major cities to the impoverished towns in the hinterland.

When internet and phone networks fail at the same moment a society surges into the street, the outage becomes part of the machinery of control. Iran’s recent connectivity collapse, reported as protests spread from major cities into smaller provincial centers,

The protests are diffuse and largely leaderless, and the president's efforts at mediation — and the killings and arrests by security forces — haven't persuaded the demonstrators to stay off the streets.

Thousands of Iranians continued to flood the streets Tuesday in the country’s largest protest over the crumbling economy – after the announcement of a minuscule stimulus payment only fanned the flames.