TEHRAN: Iranian stores closed their doors in several cities on Monday after a three-day nationwide general strike was called by protesters calling for the overthrow of the clerical elite.

Following the death of Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini on 16 September, while in the care of the morality police, Iran was rocked by widespread unrest, which has become one of the strongest challenges to the Islamic republic since its 1979 revolution.

The protest-focused Twitter account 1500 Tzafar, which has 380,000 followers, posted videos of shuttered shops in major shopping districts such as Tehran's bazaars and other major cities such as Karaj, Isfahan and Shiraz.

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Riot police and Basij militias were present in large numbers in central Tehran, according to witnesses who spoke to Reuters.

The semi-official Fars news agency reported that authorities sealed off a jewelry store owned by former Iranian football legend Ali Daei after the general strike decided to close for three days.

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Similar videos of closed businesses in smaller towns such as Bojnourd, Kerman, Sabzevar, Ilam, and Ardabil were shared by 1500tasvir and other activist accounts.

In western Iran, where most of the country's Kurdish population resides, the general strike movement has received support from 19 cities, according to the Kurdish Iranian rights group Hangav.

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Since the death of 22-year-old Amini, who was arrested by morality police for violating hijab laws, hundreds have been killed in the unrest.