Iran protests turn deadly after clashes with police across several provinces
By Mostafa Salem, CNN
(CNN) — People protesting deteriorating economic conditions in Iran took to the streets across several of the country’s provinces over the past day, with some demonstrations turning deadly after clashes with police.
At least two people were killed when dozens of protesters clashed with the police on Thursday morning in Lordegan county of the southwest Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, the state-affiliated Fars News Agency said. It remains unclear if the casualties were among law enforcement authorities or protesters.
Fars news agency reported that some protesters were armed and opened fire at officers, without providing evidence to back the claim. Unverified videos circulating on social media showed protesters throwing stones at uniformed police in the province. Fars claimed protesters threw stones at the governor’s office, banks, and other governmental buildings.
On Wednesday night, one member of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force was killed, and 13 others were injured when protests turned violent in the city of Kuhdasht in Lorestan province, state-affiliated media said, marking the first known death since protests broke out this week. Fars News Agency showed a video of a member of the police force receiving treatment after allegedly being set on fire by protesters.
The paramilitary Basij militia is often deployed by the regime to suppress protests.
Twenty people were arrested in the protests, the prosecutor of Kuhdasht said Thursday, according to state-affiliated news agency Tasnim.
Shopkeepers, bazaar merchants, and students took to the streets in several Iranian cities this week, chanting anti-regime slogans over economic conditions after the currency hit record lows.
The protests were the largest since a 2022 nationwide uprising sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody after she was arrested for allegedly wearing her headscarf improperly.
The US State Department said in a post on X Wednesday that it was concerned about reports that protesters were facing “intimidation, violence, and arrests” and called on the authorities to end the crackdown.
“First the bazaars. Then the students. Now the whole country. Iranians are united. Different lives, one demand: respect our voices and our rights,” the State Department said in a post on its Farsi account on X.
Despite being so far limited, the protests mark the latest chapter in the growing discontent in Iran, as a population quietly reclaims public spaces and personal freedoms through uncoordinated acts of defiance.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
The-CNN-Wire
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