Tens of thousands of people on Wednesday marched in support of the government of Iran after six days of continuous anti-government protests, the state-run PressTV reported.

The demonstrators chanted pro-government slogans during mass rallies held in towns and cities such as Ahvaz, Kermanshah, Bushehr, Abadan, Gorgan and Qom. The demonstrators voiced their support for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (pictured above), the country’s Supreme Leader. “The blood in our veins is a gift to our leader,” they chanted.

The anti-government protests in Iran began on December 28 in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city, over the condition of the economy and food inflation. The unrest then spread to other cities and towns across the country, turning into the largest protests since the disputed presidential elections in 2009.

Hundreds of anti-government protestors have been arrested, and a prominent judge – the chief of Tehran’s Revolutionary Tribunal court Hojjatoleslam Mousa Qazanfarabadi – has warned that a few of them could face the death penalty.

Fourteen people, including a member of the country’s security forces, have died during the demonstrations till now.