The move comes amid an intense crackdown ordered by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with reports suggesting that more than 500 people have been killed and thousands detained since protests began. The unrest, now spread across at least 280 locations, has been driven by economic hardship, political repression, and anger over the regime’s domestic and foreign policies. The move comes amid an intense crackdown ordered by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with reports suggesting that more than 500 people have been killed and thousands detained since protests began. The unrest, now spread across at least 280 locations, has been driven by economic hardship, political repression, and anger over the regime’s domestic and foreign policies.