Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. LIVE BLOG: Iran Protests by VOA News FOR THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN FARSI: Please follow [1]@VOAIran and [2]ir.voanews.com. 1/4/18 -- 1:07 p.m. -- The U.S. State Department says it is still closely monitoring the "protests and violence in Iran" and has condemned "in the strongest possible terms the deaths to date and the arrests of at least one thousand Iranians." "We have ample authorities to hold accountable those who commit violence against protestors, contribute to censorship, or steal from the people of Iran. To the regime's victims, we say: You will not be forgotten," said a statement issued Thursday. 1/4/18 - 11:45 a.m. -- Amnesty International says 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." "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. At least 21 people have been killed during the protests. 1/4/18 10:31 a.m. -- A rally was held in London, near the prime minister office at Number 10 Downing Street, in solidarity with the anti-government protests in Iran. During the gathering in London, a request was handed to the police outside Downing street, for support of both the protesters and the aspirations of the Iranian people for democratic change in Iran. 1/4/18 10:25 a.m. -- Iran's interior minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said that "based on precise statistics we have'' some 42,000 people took part in protests accross the country. The anti-regime demonstrations began last Thursday in Mashhad and spread to other cities. Protests have abated over the past day. 1/4/18 7:11 a.m. -- Russia has urged the United States not to interfere in Iran's "internal affairs" as the country has been rocked by days of protests. President Donald Trump has tweeted numerous messages of support to the protesters. "We warn the U.S. against any attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran," deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Tass news agency. 1/4/18 5:55 a.m. -- The Iranian government has [3]taken a lesson from the Arab Spring in responding to the worst anti-government protests the country has seen in nearly a decade. Heavy-handed tactics by Arab governments against popular uprisings in 2011 led to the overthrow of regimes in Egypt and Libya and sparked a civil war in Syria. Iran had its own Arab Spring-inspired demonstrations in 2011, but police deployed in relatively small numbers and refrained from using deadly force, leading the protests to die down. WATCH: In Little Persia, Immigrants Closely Watching Iranian Protests '1/4/18 3:30 a.m. -- In Los Angeles, Iranian Americans are closely watching the protests in Iran. Many in the Iranian community of Southern California, the largest outside Iran, are hoping for a peaceful resolution, and reform. The largest concentration of Iranian immigrants [4]in Los Angeles is found in the Little Persia neighborhood on the city's west side, where people criticize Iran's clerical government, which they widely view as incompetent and corrupt. 1/4/18 2:31 a.m. -- Wednesday in Iran brought demonstrations both against and in support of the government, while the United States promised new support for the Iranian people and Iran's representative to the United Nations accused the United States of "flagrant acts of intervention." [5]A wrap-up of Wednesday's events.' '1/4/18 2 a.m. -- Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi has urged the people of Iran to engage in civil disobedience and press on with nationwide protests. The pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, quoted Iran's most famous human rights lawyer as saying Iranians should stay on the street and that the constitution gives them the right to protest. Ebadi called on Iranians to stop paying water, gas and electricity bills and taxes and to withdraw their money from state banks to exert economic pressure on the government and so force it to stop resorting to violence and meet their demands. "If the government has not listened to you for 38 years, your role has come to ignore what the government says to you now," Asharq Al-Awsat quoted Ebadi as saying in an interview. Ebadi, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, is one of a number of exiled critics of Iran's leadership. More live blogs: * [6]Dec. 31 * [7]Jan. 1 * [8]Jan. 2 * [9]Jan. 3 VOA Persian Service [10]coverage of Iran Protests in Farsi Follow[11] @VOAIran breaking news coverage in Farsi on Twitter References 1. https://twitter.com/VOAIran 2. https://ir.voanews.com/ 3. https://www.voanews.com/a/iran-security-forces-show-restraint/4191801.html 4. https://www.voanews.com/a/iranian-americans-react-to-iran-protests/4191757.html 5. https://www.voanews.com/a/us-iranian-leaders-protests/4191754.html 6. https://www.voanews.com/a/live-blog-iran-protests/4186547.html 7. https://www.voanews.com/a/live-blog-iran-protests-jan-1-/4187277.html 8. https://www.voanews.com/a/live-blog-iran-protests-jan-2/4190253.html 9. https://www.voanews.com/a/live-blog-iran-protests-jan-3/4192654.html 10. https://ir.voanews.com/ 11. https://twitter.com/VOAIran