Iran has been rocked this week by protests that started in Tehran and have spread to other cities, with at least six people killed in clashes with security forces.

Official media has largely played down the protests but videos have flooded social media, many of which are difficult to authenticate, or have even been manipulated.

Here is a recap of what we know and what analysts think it all means.

- What's going on? -

The protests began on Sunday in Tehran, where some shopkeepers went on strike over high prices and economic stagnation.

Iran's economy has been battered by years of crushing international sanctions over its nuclear programme, with raging inflation and a collapsing currency.

By Tuesday, student protests erupted at universities in the capital Tehran and the central cities of Isfahan and Yazd. Some merchants in the capital's bazaar joined in.

Demonstrations have now affected 20 areas, mostly towns in the west of the country, according to an AFP tally of official and local Iranian media reports.

In the southern city of Fasa, dozens of people protested outside a government building, lobbing projectiles and seeking to tear down its gate, according to videos posted on Wednesday, whose location AFP verified.

Slogans heard at protests now include........

© Al Monitor