Rising discontent in Iran is said to have resulted in more fatalities on the fifth day of demonstrations regarding the escalating cost of living.
The semi-official Fars news agency and the human rights organization Hengaw reported that two individuals were killed during confrontations between demonstrators and security personnel in the city of Lordegan, located in southwestern Iran.
Fars reported that three additional individuals were killed in Azna and one in Kouhdasht, all located in the western region of the country.
On Thursday, social media videos displayed vehicles ablaze amid ongoing clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement.
Numerous demonstrators have urged the termination of the nation’s supreme leader’s authority. There are others who have similarly advocated for a reinstatement of the monarchy.
As the day progressed, additional reports emerged of unrest across the nation during the fifth day of protests ignited by a currency collapse.
Videos confirmed by BBC Persian depict protests occurring on Thursday in Lordegan, the capital of Tehran, and Marvdasht in southern Fars province.
Fars stated that in Lordegan, two individuals were slain, referencing a knowledgeable source. The report did not clarify if those who died were demonstrators or security personnel. It also mentioned the three fatalities in Azna, located in the adjacent Lorestan province, without clarifying if they involved protesters or security personnel.
The rights organization Hengaw reported that the two individuals who died in Lordegan were demonstrators, identifying them as Ahmad Jalil and Sajjad Valamanesh.
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BBC Persian has been unable to confirm the deaths independently.
Media outlets reported that a security forces member associated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) was killed during confrontations with demonstrators on Wednesday night in the city of Kouhdasht, located in the western Lorestan province.
The BBC is unable to confirm this, and demonstrators claim the individual was among them and was killed by the security forces.
The state media report indicated that an additional 13 police officers and Basij members sustained injuries from stone-throwing in the region.
Across the nation, schools, universities, and public institutions shut down on Wednesday following a bank holiday declared by officials in a clear attempt to calm the unrest.
It appeared to be a measure for conserving energy due to the cold climate, yet many Iranians viewed it as a strategy to suppress the protests.
They started in Tehran—with shopkeepers frustrated by yet another significant decline in the Iranian currency’s value against the US dollar in the open market.
By Tuesday, university students participated, and they had extended to multiple cities, with individuals rallying against the nation’s religious leaders.
The demonstrations have been the most extensive since the 2022 uprising triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini while in custody, a young woman charged by morality police with not properly wearing her veil. However, they have not occurred at the same level.
In order to avert any escalation, heightened security has now been noted in the regions of Tehran where the protests started.
President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that his administration will heed the “valid requests” of the demonstrators.
However, the prosecutor general, Mohammad Movahedi-Azad, has cautioned that any efforts to instigate instability will receive what he termed a “decisive response.”
