PARIS/DUBAI: Iranian activists called for fresh nationwide protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, as the movement entered a fifth week on Friday despite a crackdown that has killed dozens.

But Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that no one should dare think they can uproot the Islamic Republic.

Khamenei compared the Islamic Republic to an unshakeable tree. 鈥淭hat seedling is a mighty tree now and no one should dare think they can uproot it,鈥� he said on state TV.

Outrage over the 22-year-old Mahsa Amini鈥檚 death on September 16, three days after she was arrested by Iran鈥檚 notorious morality police, has fueled the biggest wave of street protests and violence seen in the country for years.

Young women have been on the front line of the protests, shouting anti-government slogans, removing their headscarves and facing off with security forces in the streets.

At least 108 people have been killed in the Amini protests, and at least 93 more have died in separate clashes in Zahedan, capital of the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, according to Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights.

The unrest has continued despite what Amnesty International called an 鈥渦nrelenting brutal crackdown鈥� that included an 鈥渁ll-out attack on child protesters鈥� 鈥� leading to the deaths of at least 23 minors.

There were fewer reports of people taking to the streets over Amini鈥檚 death on Friday, but hundreds of men were seen protesting after weekly prayers in Zahedan, in online videos verified by AFP.

Despite blocked access to Internet services and platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp, activists issued an online appeal for a huge turnout on Saturday for protests under the catchcry 鈥淭he beginning of the end!.鈥�

They have called on people across Iran to show up at spots where the security forces are not present and to chant 鈥淒eath to the dictator.鈥�

鈥淲e have to be present in the squares, because the best VPN these days is the street,鈥� they declared, referring to virtual private networks used to skirt Internet restrictions.

In response, one of Iran鈥檚 main revolutionary bodies, the Islamic Development Coordination Council, has called on people to join a counter-demonstration after evening prayers on Saturday to 鈥渆xpress their revolutionary anger against sedition and rioters.鈥�

The bloody crackdown has drawn international condemnation and new sanctions on Iran from Britain, Canada and the United States.

Khamenei has accused the country鈥檚 enemies, including the US and Israel, of fomenting the 鈥渞iots.鈥�

On Friday, his government condemned French President Emmanuel Macron for remarks in which he expressed solidarity with the protests sparked over Amini鈥檚 death.

Foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said Macron鈥檚 remarks served to encourage 鈥渧iolent people and law breakers.鈥�

He said it was 鈥渟urprising鈥� that France was condemning Iran鈥檚 security forces for dealing with 鈥渧iolent people and rioters鈥� when it was threatening to use force in response to 鈥渓abor strikes in the oil and gas sector鈥� at home.

鈥淭his is clear hypocrisy,鈥� he said.

Also on Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken hailed the mass protests in Iran as he met activists originally from the Islamic republic.

Blinken praised the 鈥渞emarkable displays of courage throughout Iran as women, young people and many others continue to stand up for the fundamental rights that continue to be denied them by the Iranian regime.鈥�

This week, a call went out to 鈥渞etirees鈥� of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for them to gather on Saturday given 鈥渢he current sensitive situation,鈥� according to a journalist at Shargh newspaper.

In response to the protests, the security forces have carried out a campaign of mass arrests that has netted young activists, journalists, students and even minors.

Schoolchildren have been arrested inside classrooms and ended up in 鈥減sychological centers,鈥� Education Minister Yousef Nouri said this week, quoted by Shargh.

In a rare show of accountability, the Tehran police department said Friday that it will investigate the conduct of an officer following allegations of harassment during the arrest of a woman protesting Amini鈥檚 death.

It came after a video showed a male officer appearing to grope the woman from behind while arresting her, before she was eventually allowed to leave.

Some voices of support for the protesters have come from inside the country.

In an open letter published on its front page on Thursday, reformist newspaper Etemad called on Iran鈥檚 top security official, Ali Shamkhani, to stop arrests being made under 鈥減retenses that are sometimes false.鈥�

The Iranian authorities have organized their own rallies attended by women clad in black chadors, garments that cover their heads and bodies.

A bid to show they had the support of famous women unraveled overnight, after a photomontage of dozens wearing the hijab disappeared from a Tehran billboard within 24 hours of being erected as it featured some personalities known to oppose the headscarf.