Protesters in Iran on Thursday set fire to a statue of former Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, footage obtained by Iran International shows.
The website reported that the incident took place in the city of Lali in Khuzestan, located in southwestern Iran.
It comes on the eve of the anniversary of the elimination of Soleimani in a US drone attack in Iraq, on January 3, 2020.
Earlier on Thursday, Iranian media reported that the ongoing clashes and riots in Iran, which started as part of a broader wave of protests in the country, have claimed the lives of five individuals in the past 24 hours.
According to the reports, the five protesters were killed in confrontations with the police in Lorestan province in the western part of the country.
Iran's President, Masoud Pezeshkian, addressed the protests, stating that the government should guide the nation to provide assistance to all citizens, emphasizing that "the livelihood of the people is a red line." He added, "There is no problem that cannot be solved."
On Wednesday evening, demonstrators in Iran set the IRGC headquarters in Hamedan on fire.
The Mehr news agency reported that a Basij fighter from the Revolutionary Guards was killed and 13 Basij fighters and police officers were injured in clashes in Hamedan.
On Tuesday, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz expressed support for the protests against the Iranian regime.
"The people of Iran want freedom. They have suffered at the hands of the Ayatollahs for too long," Waltz wrote on social media.
"We stand with Iranians in the streets of Tehran and across the country as they protest a radical regime that has brought them nothing but economic downturn and war," he added.