Chumukedima (Nagaland) [India], January 2 (HBTV): Growing unrest in Iran is reported to have claimed more lives on a fifth day of protests over the soaring cost of living.
Both the semi-official Fars news agency and human rights group Hengaw said two people had died during clashes between protesters and security forces in the city of Lordegan in south-western Iran. Three more people were killed in Azna and another in Kouhdasht, Fars reported, all in the west of the country.
On Thursday, videos posted on social media showed cars set on fire during running battles between protesters and security forces.
Many protesters have called for an end to the rule of the country’s supreme leader, while some have also demanded a return to the monarchy.
As the day wore on, more reports emerged of unrest across the country on the fifth day of protests sparked by a currency collapse.
Videos verified by BBC Persian showed protests in the central city of Lordegan, the capital Tehran, and Marvdasht in the southern Fars province taking place on Thursday.
Fars reported that two people were killed in Lordegan, citing an informed official, though it did not specify whether the victims were protesters or members of the security forces. The agency also reported three deaths in Azna in neighbouring Lorestan province without clarifying whether those killed were protesters or security personnel.
Rights group Hengaw said the two people killed in Lordegan were protesters, identifying them as Ahmad Jalil and Sajjad Valamanesh. BBC Persian said it had not been able to independently verify the deaths.
Separately, state media reported that a member of the security forces linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards was killed in clashes with protesters on Wednesday night in the city of Kouhdasht in western Lorestan province. This claim has not been independently verified, with protesters alleging the man was one of their number and was shot dead by security forces.
State media also said 13 police officers and Basij members were injured by stone-throwing during the clashes.
Schools, universities and public institutions were closed across the country on Wednesday after authorities declared a bank holiday, a move seen by many Iranians as an attempt to contain the unrest, although officials said it was to save energy during cold weather.
The protests began in Tehran among shopkeepers angered by another sharp fall in the value of the Iranian currency against the US dollar on the open market. By Tuesday, university students had joined the demonstrations, which spread to several cities with chants directed against the country’s clerical rulers.
The current protests are described as the most widespread since the 2022 unrest sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman detained by morality police for allegedly not wearing her veil properly, though they are not said to be on the same scale.
To prevent any escalation, tight security has been reported in areas of Tehran where the demonstrations began.
President Masoud Pezeshkian has said his government would listen to the ‘legitimate demands’ of protesters, while Prosecutor General Mohammad Movahedi-Azad warned that any attempt to create instability would face what he described as a ‘decisive response’.
Source: BBC