Dubai (United Arab Emirates), 8 Jan. (LaPresse/AP) – According to reports from activists today, protests in Iran sparked by economic hardship have now spread across the entire Islamic Republic, demonstrating their strength and intensity in challenging the country's theocracy. So far, violence surrounding the demonstrations has caused the deaths of at least 38 people, while more than 2,200 have been arrested, according to the US news agency Human Rights Activists News Agency. The demonstrations continued with traders closing their shops in the Iranian province of Kurdistan.