At least 20 people dead, hundreds arrested: Here's everything you need to know about the protests rocking Iran

AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi

Iran was rocked this week by the largest protests in the country since 2009.

Pro- and anti-government demonstrators took to the streets starting Thursday and gradually moved from the outer cities into the capital, Tehran, and Iran's second-largest city, Mashhad.

At least 20 people were dead as of Tuesday morning. As of Monday, six people were dead in the small city of Tuyserkan, two in the city of Dorud, two in the southwestern city of Izeh, and two in Lorestan province.

The protests have attracted global attention, and footage of the action has been shared hundreds of thousands of time on social media.

The demonstrations became so widely publicized that Iran blocked access to Instagram and a popular messaging app used by activists to organize and discuss the protests.

Here's what you need to know about the demonstrations:

Demonstrators began taking to the streets on Thursday.

At first, they were protesting against Iran's dire economic downturn and the skyrocketing prices of basic necessities like eggs and poultry.

As things gained steam, however, the demonstrations took on a more political edge, with activists accusing the Iranian government of corruption and calling on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to step down.

The protests drew global attention as activists began posting photos and videos of the demonstrations to social media.

The protests were the largest in Iran since the 2009 Green Movement.

Footage of the action has been shared hundreds of thousands of time on social media. Some videos showed protesters chanting "Death to the dictator!" and "Death to Rouhani," the Iranian president.

Other footage showed activists shouting slogans like "We don't want Islamic Republic!"

As the demonstrations escalated, pro-government protesters flooded the streets on Saturday to counter the anti-corruption activists.

Iranian hard-liners who support President Hassan Rouhani, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the clerical establishment of the Islamic Republic came out in droves this weekend to retaliate against the demonstrators.