Protests against soaring inflation and economic hardship in Iran have intensified, leaving two security personnel martyred and at least 30 others injured in the recent unrest, Iranian media reported on Wednesday.
According to the state-affiliated Fars News Agency, clashes erupted in the city of Lordegan in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province after shopkeepers observed a shutter-down strike and later poured onto the streets in large numbers, chanting anti-government slogans.
The demonstrations quickly turned violent, with protesters pelting police with stones and some individuals opening fire on security forces.
Protesters also damaged the governor’s office and several other government buildings in Lordegan, highlighting the growing intensity of the unrest.
In a separate incident in the northern Khorasan city of Bojnurd, demonstrators set a shop on fire. Security forces intervened promptly, extinguishing the blaze and moving a nearby civilian vehicle to a safe location to prevent further damage, Iranian media said.
Authorities say additional security forces have been deployed to affected areas in an effort to restore order and prevent the protests from spreading further.
In a video released by the news agency Mehr after a cabinet meeting, Vice President Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah said Iran’s President Pezeshkian “ordered that no security measures be taken against the demonstrators.” He added: “Those who carry firearms, knives and machetes and who attack police stations and military sites are rioters, and we must distinguish protesters from rioters”.
Read: Iran president urges calm amid protests
US media outlets reported that large-scale protests have also taken place in Tehran, Shiraz and several western regions of the country, with approximately 1,200 people arrested so far.
Hengaw, a Kurdish Iranian rights group, put the death toll at 25, including four people under the age of 18, and said more than 1,000 people had been arrested.
HRANA, a network of rights activists, said at least 29 people had been killed, including two members of the security forces, and that 1,203 people had been arrested as of Jan. 5.
Iranian media said at least 250 police officers and 45 members of the Basij paramilitary force have been injured during the unrest. Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign ministry has accused the United States and Israel of interfering in the country’s internal affairs and encouraging violence, allegations that have been repeatedly denied by Washington and Tel Aviv.
The demonstrations, now in their 11th consecutive day, are driven by rising inflation, currency depreciation and broader economic grievances. Iranian media said the overall death toll from clashes nationwide has reached 35.
The protests, while having spread to some cities in western and southern Iran, do not match the scale of the unrest that swept the country in 2022–23 following the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code.
However, despite being smaller, the protests have quickly expanded from economic grievances to broader frustrations, with some demonstrators chanting against the country’s clerical rulers.Latest News, Breaking News & Top News Stories | The Express TribuneWeb DeskRead More
