As unrest in Iran grows, protests against soaring prices continue for a fifth day, reportedly claiming more lives.
The semi-official Fars news agency and human rights group Hengaw said two people were killed in clashes between protesters and security forces in the southwestern Iranian city of Lorgan. Fars reported three additional deaths in Azna and one additional death in Kouhdasht. All occurred in the western region.
Videos posted on social media on Thursday showed vehicles being set on fire during fighting between protesters and security forces.
Many protesters called for an end to the rule of the country’s supreme leader. Some even called for a return to the monarchy.
As the day wore on, more reports of unrest came in from inside and outside the country, marking the fifth day of protests sparked by the currency collapse.
Footage seen by BBC Persia shows protests taking place on Thursday in the central city of Lorgan, the capital Tehran and Mavdasht in the southern Fars province.
Fars reported two deaths in Lordegan, citing informed officials. The report did not say whether the dead were protesters or security forces. It also reported three deaths in Azna, nearby Lorestan province, but did not specify whether any were protesters or security officials.
Human rights group Hengaw said the two people killed in Lorgan were protesters and named them Ahmad Jalil and Sajjad Valamanesh.
BBC Persian could not independently confirm the death toll.
Separately, state media said a security force soldier from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) was killed in clashes with protesters on Wednesday. Night in the city of Kudasht, in the western Lorestan region.
The BBC could not confirm this, and protesters said the man was one of them and was shot dead by security forces.
State media said a further 13 police officers and Basij members were injured by stone-throwing in the area.
Schools, universities and public institutions across the country were closed Wednesday after authorities declared a public holiday in efforts to quell unrest.
Although the move was ostensibly to save energy due to the cold weather, many Iranians saw it as an attempt to suppress protests.
The incident began in Tehran. Among shopkeepers outraged by yet another plunge in the value of the Iranian currency against the U.S. dollar on the open market.
By Tuesday, university students had taken part and they had spread to several cities, where people sang songs against the country’s clerical rulers.
These protests have been most widespread since the 2022 uprising sparked by the in-custody death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who was prosecuted by morality police for not properly wearing the veil. But they weren’t on the same scale.
Tight security has now been reported in areas of Tehran where protests have begun to prevent escalation.
President Massoud Fezeshkian said the government would listen to the protesters’ “legitimate demands.”
But Prosecutor General Mohammad Movahedi-Azad warned that any attempt to foment instability would face a “firm response.”
