Hundreds of protesters marched Friday in the southeastern Iranian provincial capital, Zahedan, marking three months since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody, sparking nationwide anti-government unrest.

Videos obtained by VOA's Persian News Network, PNN, along with similar video posted to social media, show crowds marching and chanting anti-government slogans. PNN reported they also taunted Iranian security forces, including the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, comparing them to the terrorist group Islamic State.

In one video, demonstrators packing the streets can be heard chanting, “This nation wants freedom, this nation wants a settlement.”

The government has responded with a harsh crackdown, leaving hundreds dead and thousands arrested, and leading to international condemnation and sanctions.

PNN also quoted the Zahedan Sunni Imam Maulvi Abdul Hamid, who criticized the government Friday for not listening to the people as they have protested these past several months.

Iranian officials have insisted the protests are being driven by agents of the United States and other Western nations.

Amini died September 16, after being arrested days earlier for allegedly violating the country's strict dress code for women. Since then, Iran has seen waves of protests across the nation.

On Wednesday, the United Nations — in a U.S.-sponsored resolution — moved to remove Iran from a U.N. women's rights body, the Commission on the Status of Women. Iran's foreign ministry dismissed the resolution as “invalid and illegitimate.” (VOA)

•PHOTO: FILE - This image grab from a UGC video made available Dec. 9, 2022, reportedly shows protesters marching after Friday prayers, in Zahedan, Iran.

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