Protests have broken out in southeastern Iran, with protesters attacking banks, as a senior hardline cleric called for tough measures against demonstrators across the country.

The Islamic Republic has been gripped by five weeks of demonstrations that erupted after the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last month.

On Friday, police arrested at least 57 people, described as “rioters”, after protesters threw rocks and attacked banks in the city of Zahedan, provincial police chief Ahmad Taheri was quoted as saying by the official news agency IRNA.

State television said up to 300 protesters marched in the city after Friday prayers. It showed banks and shops with smashed windows.

Videos posted on social media purported to show thousands of protesters chanting “Death to the dictator”, a reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and “Death to Basijis”, in reference to the Basij militia which has been widely used to crack down on protests. Reuters could not verify the videos.

Zahedan is the capital of southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province which is the home of Iran’s Baluch minority. Amnesty International has said security forces killed at least 66 people in a violent crackdown after Friday prayers in Zahedan on September 30.

Zahedan’s top Sunni cleric on Friday said senior Iranian officials had to take responsibility for the killings.

“For what crime were they killed? Officials, the country’s managers, the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader (Khamenei) who commands all armed forces are all responsible before God,” said Molavi Abdolhamid, a leading Sunni cleric, according to a video of his Friday prayers sermon in Zahedan posted on his website.

State media said at the time that “unidentified armed individuals” opened fire on a police station, prompting security forces to return fire.

Iran has blamed “thugs” linked to “foreign enemies” for the unrest.

The nationwide protests have turned into one of the boldest challenges to Iran’s clerical rulers since the 1979 revolution. Protesters have called for the downfall of the Islamic Republic, although the protests do not seem close to toppling the system.

The activist news agency HRANA said in a posting that 244 protesters had been killed in the unrest, including 32 minors.

– AAP