For a third night in a row, nationwide antigovernment protests rocked Iran, according to witnesses and videos verified by The New York Times, posted on BBC Persian and social media, even as the government intensified its crackdown and the military said it would take to the streets in response to the unrest.

According to think tank the Institute for the Study of War, “Protest activity has continued to take place across Iran amid the Iranian regime's continued nationwide internet shutdown. CTP-ISW has recorded 60 protests across 15 provinces since 0000 local time on January 10, 25 of which were medium-sized and eight of which were large.”

Violence linked to nationwide protests challenging Iran’s theocratic rule has left at least 116 people dead, rights activists said,

Protests in Iran are intensifying due to the country's struggling economy, putting pressure on its theocracy as it has shut down the internet and telephone networks.

Iran’s supreme leader placed the country’s security services on its highest alert as protesters continue to burn the capital.

New videos posted online after nightfall purport to show fresh protests in a number of areas across Iran. The new protests appear to be taking place in several neighborhoods in the capital Tehran, as well as other cities, including Rasht in the north, Tabriz in the northwest and Shiraz and Kerman in the south.

Both TIME Magazine and the BBC reported hundreds of protesters killed in Iran, with several hospitals in Tehran entering crisis mode due to an overflow of wounded patients.

US President Donald Trump has issued sharp warnings to Tehran, while Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed a firm crackdown, accusing protesters of serving foreign interests.