In this photo taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran, anti-riot Iranian police prevent university students to join other protesters over Iran weak... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran, anti-riot Iranian police prevent university students to join other protesters over Iran weak economy, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017. A wave of spontaneous protests over Iran's weak... (Associated Press) 
 
 TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Two protesters taking part in demonstrations roiling Iran were killed at a rally overnight, a semi-official news agency reported Sunday, the first deaths attributed to the ongoing protests. 
 
 The demonstrations, which began Thursday over the economic woes plaguing Iran, appear to be the largest to strike the Islamic Republic since the protests that followed the country's disputed 2009 presidential election. 
 
 In Doroud, a city some 325 kilometers (200 miles) southwest of Tehran, in Iran's western Lorestan province, protesters gathered for an unauthorized rally that lasted into the night Saturday, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported. 
 
 Mehr quoted Habibollah Khojastepour, the security deputy of Lorestan's governor, as saying the illegal gathering ignited clashes. The two protesters were killed in the clashes, he said. 
 
 "The gathering was to be ended peacefully, but due to the presence of the (agitators), unfortunately, this happened," Khojastepour was quoted as saying. 
 
 He did not offer a cause of death for the two protesters, but said "no bullets were shot from police and security forces at the people." 
 
 Videos circulating on social media late Saturday appeared to show fallen protesters in Doroud as gunshots sounded in the background. The Associated Press could not immediately verify the footage. 
 
 Thousands have taken to the streets of cities across Iran, beginning on Thursday in Mashhad, the country's second-largest city and a holy site for Shiite pilgrims. 
 
 The protests in the Iranian capital, as well as President Donald Trump tweeting about them, raised the stakes. It also apparently forced state television to break its silence on Saturday, acknowledging it hadn't reported on the protests on orders from security officials. 
 
 At least 50 protesters have been arrested since Thursday, authorities said Saturday. State TV said some protesters chanted the name of the U.S.-backed shah, who fled into exile just before Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution and later died. 
 
 On Sunday, the semi-official ILNA news agency reported that authorities have arrested some 80 protesters in the city of Arak, some 280 kilometers (173 miles) south of Tehran. 
 
 Iran's economy has improved since its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which saw Iran limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the end of some international sanctions. Tehran now sells its oil on the global market and has signed deals to purchase tens of billions of dollars' worth of Western aircraft. 
 
 That improvement has not reached the average Iranian, however. Unemployment remains high, and official inflation has crept up to 10 percent again. A recent increase in egg and poultry prices by as much as 40 percent, which a government spokesman has blamed on a cull over avian flu fears, appears to have been the spark for the economic protests. 
 
 While the protests have sparked clashes, Iran's hard-line paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and its affiliates have not intervened as they have in other unauthorized demonstrations since the 2009 election. 
 
 Some analysts outside of Iran have suggested that may be because the economic protests initially just put pressure on the administration of President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate whose administration struck the nuclear deal. 
 
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 Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. ||||| TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The Latest on protests in Iran (all times local): 
 
 11 a.m. 
 
 Some 4,000 people are taking part in a pro-government rally in Tehran amid a series of economic protests in Iran. 
 
 The rally Saturday came after two days of unauthorized demonstrations across the country. 
 
 One pro-government demonstrator, 27-year-old Ali Ahmadi, blamed the U.S for all of Iran's economic problems. 
 
 Ahmadi told The Associated Press: "They always say that we are supporting Iranian people, but who should pay the costs?" 
 
 The economic protests began Wednesday. Officials say some 50 protesters have been arrested. U.S. President Donald Trump has tweeted out support for those protesting. 
 
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 9 a.m. 
 
 Iran is marking the end of protests surrounding its disputed 2009 presidential election as new demonstrations have erupted over the country's economic woes. 
 
 The government-sponsored demonstration planned for Saturday come as U.S. President Donald Trump has tweeted out support for those now protesting in major Iranian cities. 
 
 It's unclear if Trump's comments will sway Iranians already skeptical of him over his refusal to re-certify Iran's nuclear deal with world powers, as well as other remarks he's made. The State Department late Friday also offered support to the protesters. 
 
 The economic protests began Thursday after being sparked in part by social media and have drawn thousands into the streets in several cities in Iran. Demonstrators also have criticized Iran's government. There have been arrests reported in some areas.
– The death toll in the protests sweeping Iran is now at least 20—and it could end up a lot higher under a recommendation from the head of Tehran's Revolutionary Court. According to Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency, Mousa Ghazanfarabadi said Tuesday that some of the hundreds of protesters arrested around the country could face the death penalty for "waging war against God," the AP reports. At least 450 people are believed to have been arrested in Tehran alone since Saturday. President Hassan Rouhani says he can understand public anger at the economy, but lawbreaking will not be tolerated. In other developments: Support from Trump. President Trump has tweeted in support of the protesters, and administration officials say they're urging other nations to support Iranians' right to protest. "We are encouraging all nations around the world to publicly condemn the government violence and to support the legitimate, basic rights of those protesting," Brian Hook, the State Department's director of policy planning, tells the Wall Street Journal.