Coldplay perform Iranian protest song Baraye by arrested singer

An Iranian protest anthem that has become the soundtrack to the national uprising was again thrust into the international spotlight over the weekend when Coldplay performed a cover and broadcast it live around the world.

The British band played the song, Baraye, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Friday and Saturday night at the start of their world tour, with the exiled Iranian actor Golshifteh Farahani on stage and singing in Farsi.

Days after the song was released and went viral, the 25-year-old was arrested and his song deleted from Instagram. He has since been released on bail but has gone silent.

However, his music had been widely shared, with other videos showing Baraye being sung by Iranian schoolgirls, blaring from car windows in Tehran and playing at solidarity protests around the world. It has received tens of thousands of submissions for a Grammy award that honours music dedicated to social change.

Since then, protests led by women have been met with violence by authorities, with at least 270 people dead and 14,000 arrested, according to the group Human Rights Activists in Iran.

Now in their seventh week, the rallies have become a full-blown student uprising against the regime that shows no sign of ending.

Footage of the concert has been widely shared by Iranians on social media, although government restrictions on the internet make it difficult to verify accounts inside the country.