Fifth Iranian paramilitary member killed as president warns protesters will be dealt with 'decisively' - CNN

The person died from injuries sustained on Thursday in Urmia city in northwest Iran, Iranian state news agency IRNA said.

Other members of Basij, a paramilitary organization connected to the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have been killed in Qazvin, Tabriz, Mashhad and Qouchan.

The protests have been sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman detained by morality police on September 13 accused of violating the country's conservative dress code.

Hundreds of anti-government demonstrators returned to the streets of Tehran and dozens of other provincial towns as darkness fell on Sunday, despite claims by state-run news agencies that pro-government rallies have put an end to the protests.

The protesters organized themselves despite a crackdown by security forces, arrests of protesters and internet disruption.

Protesters chanted anti-government and anti-Supreme Leader slogans, as well as "death to dictator," while venting their anger against the Basij militias.

Since Friday, demonstrations have taken place in at least 40 cities nationwide, including the capital Tehran, with protesters demanding an end to violence and discrimination against women as well as an end to compulsory wearing of the hijab.

At least 35 people have died in Iran in recent protests over the death of Amini, state media outlet the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) said late on Friday.

Amnesty International previously said that 30 people had died.

Meanwhile, the IRGC, the elite wing of the Iranian military that was established in the aftermath of the country's revolution in 1979, has asked all people to identify protesters, the country's semi-official news agency Fars News said.

On Sunday, hundreds of thousands of Iranians held pro-government rallies in many cities in Iran to condemn the recent unrest, state news IRNA reported.

People took to the streets in many cities and towns, including the holy city of Mashhad, the northwestern city of Qazvin, the central city of Esfahan as well as the western cities of Hamedan and Yasuj, to show their "unity and outrage over the recent acts of sabotage perpetrated by rioters," state news added.

According to Press TV, the demonstrators "condemned the crimes and evil acts committed by a handful of mercenaries serving foreign enemies, who set fire to the Holy Qur'an, mosques, and the national flags and forcefully removed women's headscarves on the streets."

Decades of repression

Authorities hope that by restricting the internet they can control the protests -- the latest in a wave that has swept Iran in recent years.