At least three people died and 17 were injured during demonstrations in Iran, Iranian media and human rights groups reported on Thursday (1st), as the largest protests against worsening economic conditions in the country triggered violence in several provinces.
Protesters clashed with police, threw stones at officers and set cars on fire, Fars said.
The news agency said some armed “rioters” took advantage of a protest in the city. Without providing evidence, Fars claimed that police later confiscated firearms from some individuals.
That morning, at least two people died when dozens of protesters clashed with police in Lordegan county in the southwestern province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Fars reported.
It is not yet clear whether the victims were police or protesters. Unverified videos circulating on social media show protesters throwing stones at uniformed police officers in the province.
The Fars news agency said protesters threw stones at the governor’s office, banks and other government buildings.
The first known death linked to the protests occurred on Wednesday night (31), when a member of the Basij paramilitary militia was killed and 13 others were injured in the city of Kuhdasht in Lorestan province, according to state media.
The Fars agency released a video of a police officer receiving medical attention after allegedly being set on fire by protesters.
The Basij paramilitary militia is frequently deployed by the regime to suppress protests.
Twenty people were arrested during the protests, the Kuhdasht prosecutor said on Thursday, according to state news agency Tasnim.
In Malard County, Tehran province, authorities arrested 30 people for “disrupting public order”, according to Fars. The agency cited Mansour Saleki, a county official, who said those detained were “abusing citizens’ legal right to protest.”
According to investigations, several of the arrested protesters came from neighboring counties, Saleki said, according to the Fars agency.
Economic situation
Shopkeepers, bazaar traders and students, chanting slogans against the regime in protest against the economic situation after the currency reached historic lows.
The protests were the largest, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody after being arrested for allegedly wearing the Islamic veil inappropriately.
Although so far limited, the protests represent the latest chapter in growing dissatisfaction in Iran, as people silently demand public spaces and individual freedoms through uncoordinated acts of resistance.
US authorities
US President Donald Trump said the country would intervene if Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters.”
“If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, as is its custom, the United States of America will come to its aid. We stand ready to act”
The US State Department said in a post on Wednesday it was concerned about reports that protesters were suffering “intimidation, violence and arrests” and called on authorities to end the crackdown.
“First the bazaars. Then the students. Now the entire country. Iranians are united. Different lives, one demand: respect for our voices and our rights,” the State Department said in a post on its Farsi Facebook account.
