At least six people reported killed during widening protests in Iran

Widening demonstrations sparked by Iran’s ailing economy have spread into the Islamic Republic’s rural provinces, with at least six people being killed in the first fatalities reported among security forces and protesters, authorities said.

The deaths may mark the start of a heavier-handed response by Iran’s theocracy over the demonstrations, which have slowed in the capital, Tehran, but expanded elsewhere.

The fatalities, one on Wednesday and two on Thursday, occurred in two cities predominantly home to Iran’s Lur ethnic group.

The protests have become the biggest in Iran since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody triggered nationwide demonstrations.

But the demonstrations have yet to be countrywide and have not been as intense as those surrounding the death of Ms Amini, who was detained over not wearing her hijab, or headscarf, to the liking of authorities.

The most-intense violence appeared to strike Azna, a city in Iran’s Lorestan province, some 185 miles (300km) south-west of Tehran.

There, online videos purported to show objects in the street ablaze and gunfire echoing as people shouted: “Shameless! Shameless!”

The semi-official Fars news agency reported three people had been killed.

Other media, including pro-reform outlets, cited Fars for the report while state-run media did not fully acknowledge the violence there or elsewhere.

It was not clear why there was not more reporting over the unrest, but journalists had faced arrest over their reporting in 2022.

In Lordegan, a city in Iran’s Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, online videos showed demonstrators gathered on a street, with the sound of gunfire in the background.

The footage matched known features of Lordegan, some 290 miles (470km) south of Tehran.

Fars, citing an anonymous official, said two people had been killed during the protests on Thursday.

The Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Centre for Human Rights in Iran said two people had been killed there, identifying the dead as demonstrators.

It also shared a still image of what appeared to be an Iranian police officer, wearing body armour and wielding a shotgun.

Iran’s government media did not immediately report on the violence in Lordegan.

A separate demonstration on Wednesday night reportedly led to the death of a 21-year-old volunteer in the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s Basij force.

The state-run IRNA news agency reported on the guard member’s death but did not elaborate.

An Iranian news agency called the Student News Network, which is believed to be close to the Basij, directly blamed demonstrators for the guard member’s death, citing comments from Saeed Pourali, a deputy governor in Iran’s Lorestan province.

The guard member “was martyred… at the hands of rioters during protests in this city in defence of public order”, he reportedly said.

Another 13 Basij members and police officers suffered injuries, he added.

“The protests that have occurred are due to economic pressures, inflation and currency fluctuations, and are an expression of livelihood concerns,” Mr Pourali said.

“The voices of citizens must be heard carefully and tactfully, but people must not allow their demands to be strained by profit-seeking individuals.”

The protests took place in the city of Kouhdasht, more than 250 miles (400km) south-west of Tehran.

Local prosecutor Kazem Nazari said 20 people had been arrested after the protests and that calm had returned to the city, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported.

Iran’s civilian government under reformist president Masoud Pezeshkian has been trying to signal it wants to negotiate with protesters.

But Mr Pezeshkian has acknowledged there is not much he can do as Iran’s rial currency has rapidly depreciated, with one US dollar now costing some 1.4 million rials.

Meanwhile, state television separately reported on the arrests of seven people, including five it described as monarchists and two others it said had links to European-based groups.

State TV also said another operation saw security forces confiscate 100 smuggled pistols, without elaborating.

The protests, taking root in economic issues, have heard demonstrators chant against Iran’s theocracy as well.