Iran reports first deaths in cost-of-living protests

Tehran: Protesters and security forces clashed in western Iran on Thursday, with three people reported killed, the first deaths since the cost-of-living demonstrations broke out.

The protests began on Sunday in Tehran, where shopkeepers went on strike over high prices and economic stagnation, and have since spread to other parts of the country.

On Thursday, the Fars news agency reported two civilians were killed in fresh clashes between security forces and protesters in the city of Lordegan.

"Some protesters began throwing stones at the city's administrative buildings, including the provincial governor's office, the mosque, the Martyrs' Foundation, the town hall and banks," Fars said, adding that police responded with tear gas.

Fars added that the buildings were "severely damaged" and police arrested several people described as "ringleaders". 

State media has labelled demonstrators as rioters during previous protest movements.

Earlier Thursday, state television reported that a member of Iran's security forces was killed overnight during protests in the western city of Kouhdasht.

"A 21-year-old member of the Basij from the city of Kouhdasht was killed last night by rioters while defending public order," the channel said, citing Said Pourali, the deputy governor of Lorestan Province.

The Basij are a volunteer paramilitary force linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the Islamic republic.

Pourali said that "during the demonstrations in Kouhdasht, 13 police officers and Basij members were injured by stone throwing".

'End up in hell'

The demonstrations are smaller than the last major outbreak of unrest in 2022, triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly violating Iran's strict dress code for women.

Her death sparked a nationwide wave of anger that left several hundred people dead, including dozens of members of the security forces.

The latest protests began peacefully in the capital and spread after students from at least 10 universities joined in on Tuesday.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has sought to calm tensions, acknowledging protesters' "legitimate demands", and called on the government Thursday to take action to improve the economic situation.

"From an Islamic perspective... if we do not resolve the issue of people's livelihoods, we will end up in hell," Pezeshkian said at an event broadcast on state television.

Authorities, however, have also promised to take a "firm" stance, and have warned against exploiting the situation to sow chaos.

Local media coverage of the demonstrations has varied, with some outlets focusing on economic difficulties, and others on incidents caused by "troublemakers".

Iran is in the middle of an extended weekend, with the authorities declaring Wednesday a bank holiday at the last minute, citing the need to save energy during the cold weather.

They made no official link to the protests.

The weekend in Iran begins on Thursday, and Saturday is a long-standing national holiday.

Iran's prosecutor general said on Wednesday that peaceful economic protests were legitimate, but any attempt to create insecurity would be met with a "decisive response".

"Any attempt to turn economic protests into a tool of insecurity, destruction of public property, or implementation of externally designed scenarios will inevitably be met with a legal, proportionate and decisive response."

On Wednesday evening, the Tasnim news agency reported the arrest of seven people it described as being affiliated with "groups hostile to the Islamic Republic based in the United States and Europe".

It said they had been "tasked with turning the demonstrations into violence". Tasnim did not say when they were arrested.

The national currency, the rial, has lost more than a third of its value against the US dollar over the past year, while double-digit hyperinflation has been undermining Iranians' purchasing power for years. 

The inflation rate in December was 52 percent year-on-year, according to the Statistical Centre of Iran, an official body.