Violent clashes reported as Iran protests spread to more areas

As the wave of unrest caused by the economic crisis in the country continued for the 11th day, violent clashes took place between anti-government protesters and security forces in various parts of Iran on Wednesday.

The semi-official Fars news agency, which is close to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, said two police officers were shot dead by gunmen in the southwestern town of Lordegan.

In videos published on social media, a tense conflict took place between protesters and security forces while gunshots were heard in the background.

Footage from several other areas showed security forces firing guns and tear gas into crowds of protesters, some of whom were throwing stones.

According to the US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA), the protests have so far spread to 111 cities and towns in all 31 provinces.

It was reported that at least 34 protesters and 4 security personnel were killed and 2,200 protesters were arrested during the incidents.

BBC Persian confirmed the deaths and identities of 21 people, while Iranian officials reported the deaths of five security personnel.

The protests began on December 28, when shopkeepers took to the streets of the capital Tehran to express their anger at the sharp decline in the value of the Iranian currency, the rial, against the US dollar on the open market.

The rial fell to a record low last year and inflation soared to 40 percent as sanctions imposed on Iran’s nuclear program squeezed an economy weakened by government mismanagement and corruption.

University students soon joined the protests and the protests began to spread to other cities; Crowds were often heard chanting slogans against the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and sometimes in support of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s late former shah.

on wednesday, Videos verified by BBC Persian showed crowds protesting in QazvinDemonstrators in northwest Tehran chanted slogans such as “Death to the dictator” and “Long live the Shah”, a reference to Khamenei.

Views from Bandar Abbas Bay portIt showed protesters chanting “Police force, support, support” before security forces dispersed them.

In Mashhad, the holy city of Shiites in the northwest of the country, Protesters were seen clashing with security forces, forcing them to retreat. Another video showed people chanting slogans in support of the Pahlavi dynasty, which was overthrown by the 1979 Islamic revolution.

In the late afternoon, A large demonstration was also held in the southwestern city of AbadanProtesters chanted “Cannon, tanks, fireworks! Mullahs must disappear,” referring to Iran’s religious leaders, according to footage confirmed by BBC Persian.

More images taken from a balcony in the city have emerged Security forces open fire as they flee from advancing protestersThose who throw stones and other objects.

As night falls, Security forces were filmed firing tear gas to disperse a protest in AligudarzIn another western city, a crowd gathered in a square and chanted “People’s uprising, long live!” after chanting slogans.

Fars reports that two police officers were killed during a protest in Lordegan on Wednesday.

He added that the officers, whom he named Hadi Azarsalim and Muslim Mahdavinasab, were shot dead by “gunmen” from a group he called “rebels”.

It was not immediately possible to verify the report because the BBC and other independent international media organizations are not allowed to report from inside Iran, or if they are, they face severe restrictions on their movements.

But Lordegan has been the scene of violent clashes during the unrest, and two protesters were killed there last Thursday.

Following a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Vice President for Executive Affairs Mohammed Jafar Qaempanah said President Masoud Pezeshkian had ordered that “no security measures” be taken against peaceful protesters.

“Those who carry firearms, knives and machetes, and attack police stations and military sites are rioters, and we must separate the protesters from the rioters,” he added.

State media also reported that the government had started paying 71 million citizens a new monthly allowance equivalent to $7 (£5) to ease the pain of the high cost of living.

Meanwhile, judicial chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei told police commanders that “rioters” would face “swift” prosecution and punishment as a deterrent.

Khamenei, who has ultimate power as the supreme leader in Iran, said on Saturday that authorities should “talk to the protesters” but that “the rioters must be put in their place.”

These comments came after President Donald Trump threatened that the United States would intervene if Iranian security forces killed peaceful protesters: “We are locked and loaded.”

The protests have been the most widespread since the uprising sparked by the 2022 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who was detained by morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly.

More than 550 people have been killed and 20,000 detained in security forces’ violent crackdown on protests, according to human rights groups.