Protests hit Iran, but centre holds

CALL FOR CHANGE: CRACKDOWN FOLLOWS CHALLENGES

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Over two weeks of protests mark the most serious challenge in years to Iran's theocratic leadership in their scale and nature, but it is too early to predict the immediate demise of the Islamic republic, analysts say.

The demonstrations moved from protesting economic grievances to demanding a wholesale change from the clerical system that has ruled Iran since the 1979 revolution that ousted the shah.

The authorities have unleashed a crackdown that, according to rights groups, has left hundreds dead while the rule of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, remains intact.

"These protests arguably represent the most serious challenge to the Islamic republic in years, both in scale and in their increasingly explicit political demands," Nicole Grajewski, professor at the Sciences Po Centre for International Studies in Paris, said.

She said it was unclear if the protests would unseat the leadership, citing "the sheer depth and resilience of Iran's repressive apparatus".