Thousands of people from all walks of life held fresh rallies in several satellite towns on the outskirts of Tehran yesterday to condemn riots and to support the Islamic Republic. Tehran's Friday prayer leader asked the government to deal firmly with the protest leaders and those responsible for igniting these rallies, in which 22 people have been reported killed and many arrested. <br/><br/>The clerics blame the US and its allies in the region for instigating the anti-government protests. Despite the claims of the Chief of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard that the anti-establishment protests had ended on Wednesday, there are reports of sporadic incidents of such rallies still being held. <br/><br/>Meanwhile, UN Human rights experts have urged the Iranian authorities to respect the rights of the protestors and voiced concern over Tehran's restriction on the social messaging service. <br/><br/>The protests which began on 28th of December in the city of Mashhad was initially against price rise, corruption and a stagnant economy but slowly took the shape of a wider anti-government sentiment. Observers and other experts say endemic economic mismanagement and corruption have left Iranians disenchanted.