Laura Gozzi
BBC News Live Reporter

Iranian authorities are reported to have today used violence against demonstrators who'd gathered to mark the death of Nika Shakarami, another symbol of the protest movement.

A source close to her family told BBC Persian that security forces opened fire on protesters who'd gathered at a cemetery in which Shakarami is buried in Khorramabad, a city in her home region.

Rallies also took place in the region yesterday, with protesters carrying banners bearing her name.

Image source, Twitter

Shakarami, 16, disappeared in the aftermath of a protest in Tehran on 20 September in which she was filmed burning her headscarf. At the time, she told a friend she was being chased by police. Her family said they located her body at the mortuary 10 days after she went missing.

Her mother accused security forces of murdering her daughter, but officials have said Shakarami died by suicide by jumping from a building and denied ever arresting her.

Earlier today, in a development that threatens to fuel the protests, CNN released an investigation, external which the US network says provides proof that Shakarami was indeed arrested by security forces.

The investigation features unseen footage of a young girl leading the crowd in throwing stones, and then hiding from the police between passing cars. CNN said it identified her as Shakarami.

The eyewitness who provided the video told the CNN that they saw the teenager arrested by "several big security officers".

Lyse Doucet
Chief International Correspondent

The Islamic Republic of Iran has seen protests before. But not like this.

The authorities are still trying to dismiss and discredit them as “rioters influenced by foreigners.”

It’s hard to square that with extraordinary images of teenage schoolgirls rejecting obligatory headscarves, of women of all ages walking bare-headed in public spaces.

It’s also hard too to see Iran returning to days where so-called morality police can police women’s dress the way they’ve done for decades.

This is now about more, much more, than what women wear.

In the past, major uprisings have fizzled out, or were forcibly suppressed, after months of unrest. But, with every week, this wave seems to strengthen.

The full force of Iran’s security apparatus has yet to be unleashed. The authorities will do whatever it takes to preserve the Islamic Republic.

But Iran’s protesters, especially a new generation of women and men, also seem ready to do whatever it takes to change their lives, and much more.

Khosro Kalbasi Isfahani
BBC Monitoring reporter

Image source, Reuters

In response to the protests, the Islamic Republic has unleashed brute force.

The number of reported deaths vary, but Norway-based Iran Human Rights says at least 234 protesters, including 29 children, have been killed by security forces so far.

Among the detainees are 44 journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, external.

Multiple technology experts and online freedom activists have also been arrested, rights group Article 19 says, external.

In addition, the state has resorted to threatening protesters with the death penalty to deter defiance.

At the same time, the authorities have blocked all international social media platforms and messaging tools.

They have also throttled access to the internet and deployed aggressive methods for targeting censorship circumvention tools like VPNs and proxy services.

Despite all this, evidence of state violence against protesters has trickled out of Iran, external with each incident adding fuel to public anger.

Our colleagues at BBC Persian are reporting that at least 15 doctors were arrested during a gathering of medical staff in Tehran yesterday, in support of wider protests.

Doctors stood in front of the offices of the Iranian Legal Medicine Organisation and chanted slogans including "freedom, freedom, freedom".

Many of the demonstrators were reportedly injured.

The president and vice president of the Tehran Medical Council have resigned in protest.

If you're just joining us or need a catch-up, here are the latest developments from Iran:

• Wednesday saw one the biggest nights of protests in Iran since anti-government demonstrations erupted six weeks ago in response to the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody after being detained for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly
• More protests are taking place today, including in the city of Mahabad, a Kurdish city in the north-west, where people are gathering and demonstrating in front of government buildings
• One person was killed today and another was shot dead last night, according to the Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights

Universities in Iran saw vigils and demonstrations on Wednesday, the 40th day of mourning for Mahsa Amini.

Students gathered together to march and chant, at universities in the capital Tehran and across the country.

We've verified video clips from lots of different places - click play on the video above to watch.

Image source, Shutterstock

On 13 September, Mahsa Amini, 22, was standing by a highway in Tehran with her brother Kiarash when she was stopped and arrested by Iran’s morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab, or headscarf, improperly.

Kiarash later said he was told his sister would be released after an hour of "education class".

Two days after the arrest, Iranian police reported Amini’s name for the first time, saying she had fallen ill due to "heart problems" that came on "suddenly” in a morality police office.

Police said she had been "immediately" transferred to hospital. Amini’s family said doctors told them her heart was beating but her "brain was not conscious anymore".

The next day she was pronounced dead.

Her family said she was a healthy young woman with no medical conditions that would explain a sudden heart problem.

Soon reports emerged claiming she had been beaten on the head while inside a police van after being picked up in Tehran.

Police have repeatedly denied the allegations. Her death came in the wake of a series of reports of brutality against women by authorities in Iran.

Khosro Kalbasi Isfahani
BBC Monitoring reporter

Thousands of people took part in protests in Iran yesterday to mark 40 days since the death of Masha Amini.

But why is this 40-day anniversary significant?

The traditional mourning period in Iranian culture lasts 40 days.

Usually, immediate family members wear black during this period and hold a memorial event on the last day.

During the years leading to the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and propelled Islamist theocrats to power, this tradition - along with the burials of protesters - was used by revolutionaries as a rallying point.

Iranians have showed no signs of slowing down their anti-government protests.

It has been more than a month since Mahsa Amini died after being arrested for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly, sparking the movement.

Yesterday saw one of the biggest days of unrest in the country as people marked the 40th day of death.

Protests were held in Amini's hometown of Saqqez and all of Iran's major cities.

Here are some pictures taken during the six weeks of protests in Iran - some are from social media videos verified by the BBC:

Image source, Twitter

Image source, Twitter

Image source, Twitter

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Twitter

Image source, Twitter

People are currently gathering and protesting in front of government buildings in the city of Mahabad, a Kurdish city in the north-west.

One person was killed today and another was shot dead last night, according to the Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights.

Images of protesters gathering in front of government buildings, including the municipality and the governor's office, have appeared on social media. In some videos shared online, protesters are chanting "Kurdistan, Kurdistan, the graveyard of fascists" and "Death to the dictator".

There have also been reports of a police station being besieged.

Image source, .

The most powerful figure in Iran is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been the country's supreme leader since 1989.

He is head of state and commander-in-chief. He has authority over the national police and the morality police, whose officers detained Mahsa Amini.

Ayatollah Khamenei also controls the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps and the paramilitary Basij Resistance Force. As such, he has the most say over how to deal with the protests.

President Ebrahim Raisi is the top elected official and second in rank to the supreme leader. He is responsible for the day-to-day running of the government and has significant influence over domestic policy and foreign affairs.

However, his powers are relatively limited - especially in security matters.

If the supreme leader wants protests to be ended with force, the president has little choice but to fall in line.

Read more about how Iran is run here.

We have heard that yesterday's protests were among the largest to take place in Iran since the death of Mahsa Amini.

As the 40th day following an individual’s death is a religiously and culturally significant moment of respect for the deceased in Iran, calls had already gained momentum on social media to mark the day with protests in memory of Amini.

Thousands gathered at a cemetery in Amini’s hometown, chanting against the ruling establishment before clashing with security forces on their way back. Angry protests took place at multiple locations across the capital, Tehran, as police were seen firing tear gas.

“Death to the dictator,” men and women chanted in videos published by multiple social media outlets. Twirling their headscarves, women showed their defiance of the mandatory hijab rules, in a gesture that has been a recurring motif of the protests.

Many students, who have been at the front line during the recent protests, took part in campus rallies in over a dozen cities. Many chanted against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and faced off government loyalists.

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has had various forms of "morality police" to tackle social issues seen as "red lines" by the establishment, such as the wearing of the hijab by women and the issue of men and women socialising.

But the Gasht-e Ershad (Guidance Patrols) - the morality police associated with Mahsa Amini's death - are currently the main agency tasked with enforcing Iran's Islamic code of conduct in public.

Their focus is on ensuring observance of mandatory rules requiring women to cover their hair and body and which discourage cosmetics.

They are empowered to admonish suspects or arrest members of the public. In recent years, women drivers have received text messages and been summoned for flouting headscarf rules in their cars.

The morality police, however, are not alone in promoting the hijab: 26 organisations, including several ministries and the state broadcaster, are responsible for implementing the regulations in total.

Hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi introduced new restrictions earlier this year, including prison sentences for any Iranian who posts content against the hijab rules online.

Rana Rahimpour
BBC Persian

What we saw in Iran yesterday was unprecedented, BBC Persian has confirmed that there were protests in at least 30 cities.

The largest was in the city of Saqqez, the birth place of Mahsa Amini who died in the custody of morality police 40 days ago.

And despite the efforts of security officials who had blocked the roads and had forged statements on behalf of her family, in order to discourage people from going to her grave, we received videos in which we could see thousands of people marching towards her grave.

We couldn't see the end of the crowd in those videos.

It's very difficult to get an accurate overall picture of what's going on. But what we know for sure is that the foundations of the Islamic revolution are being shaken.

The BBC and independent media are not allowed to report from Iran, so videos from inside the country and on social media are crucial to establishing what is happening on the ground.

Our colleagues in BBC Persian and BBC Monitoring have been tracking the protests since the beginning.

Shayan Sardarizadeh is one of our reporters who has looked at countless videos in order to verify them and he says the level of anger is unlike anything he’s ever seen.

Wednesday's protests appeared to be "huge", he says, and quite possibly the biggest and most geographically dispersed day of protests since the movement began six weeks ago.

Shayan adds:

Since Mahsa Amini's death last month, there has been strong support from across the world.

Protests in support of women's rights have been held in Germany, Australia, England and beyond.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Raffi Berg
BBC Online Middle East editor

Iran on Wednesday saw one of the biggest nights of protests since anti-government demonstrations erupted six weeks ago.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in all major cities, including the capital Tehran.

Other cities, such as Andimeshk and Borujerd in the west, and Lahijan, near the Caspian Sea in the north, also saw a resurgence of protests.

"The society is very angry. We had enough of them [Iranian leadership]," a 27-year-old protester who lives close to Tehran told BBC Persian.

"I want to have the right to say no to these people. I'm tired of being a second-class citizen because I am a woman. Men are tired of the intimidation by the regime. This is the first time in the history of our country that we stand together for a goal which is woman, life and freedom."

Image source, Shutterstock

The protests that have been taking place for weeks across Iran began following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.

She was detained by police on 13 September for allegedly failing to comply with the strict dress code on head coverings, which are compulsory in Iran.

Authorities say Mahsa Amini died from underlying health reasons - but her family and countless other Iranians believe she died as a result of having been beaten.

Following her funeral, held in her hometown of Saqqez, in the western province of Kurdistan, protests erupted.

Women chanted “woman, life, freedom” and “death to the dictator” while waving – and in some cases burning – their headscarves.

Similar demonstrations were staged elsewhere in the Kurdish-populated north-west and in the capital Tehran, before the unrest reached dozens of other cities and evolved into the most serious challenge to the establishment in years.

Despite a crackdown by security forces, there is no sign yet that protests are abating.

Hello and welcome to our coverage as thousands of people in Iran continue to defy security forces and continue their protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.

The escalation in anti-government demonstrations on Wednesday marked 40 days since her death in police custody - which originally sparked a wave of unrest.

Footage posted on social media and verified by the BBC show widespread protests took place.

In the capital, Tehran, fires were lit in the street, while hundreds marched down a main road chanting slogans including "Death to the dictator!", a reference to Iran's supreme leader and which has become a common refrain.

Our colleagues in BBC Persian monitoring the situation are seeing more protests taking place today, including in Mahabad, a Kurdish city in the north-west.

Stay with us as we bring you all the latest developments.