Listen to this article
Estimated 4 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
Several people were killed during unrest in Iran, Iranian media and rights groups said on Thursday, as the biggest protests to hit the Islamic Republic for three years over worsening economic conditions sparked violence in several provinces.
The semi-official Fars news agency reported that three protesters were killed and 17 were injured during an attack on a police station in Iran’s western province of Lorestan.
Fars said protesters entered police headquarters around 6 p.m. local time on Thursday, where “they clashed with police forces and set fire to several police cars.”
Earlier, Fars and rights group Hengaw reported deaths in Lordegan city in the country’s Charmahal and Bakhtiari province. Authorities confirmed one death in the western city of Kuhdasht, and Hengaw reported another death in the central province of Isfahan.
The clashes between protesters and security forces mark a significant escalation in the unrest that has spread across the country since shopkeepers began protesting on Sunday over the government’s handling of a sharp currency slide and rapidly rising prices.
Protests spread aross Iran
Fars reported that two people had been killed in Lordegan in clashes between security services and what it called armed protesters. It earlier said several had died. Hengaw said several people had been killed and wounded there by security forces.
The Revolutionary Guards said one member of its affiliated Basij volunteer paramilitary unit, Amirhossam Khodayari Fard, had been killed in Kuhdasht, with another 13 wounded.
The Basij is a volunteer paramilitary force loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Guards on Thursday accused those involved in the unrest in Kuhdasht of “taking advantage of the atmosphere of popular protests.”
However, Hengaw said that the man had been protesting and was killed by security forces.
Hengaw also reported that a protester was shot dead on Wednesday in Isfahan province in central Iran.
Reuters could not immediately verify any of those reports.
Protests also took place on Thursday in Marvdasht in the southern Fars province, the activist news site HRANA reported. Hengaw said demonstrators had been detained on Wednesday in the western provinces of Kermanshah, Khuzestan and Hamedan.
Government shutdown
Iran’s clerical rulers are grappling with Western sanctions that have battered an economy already reeling from more than 40 per cent inflation, compounded by Israeli and U.S. airstrikes in June targeting the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile infrastructure and military leadership.
Tehran has responded to the protests with an offer of dialog alongside its security response.
Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said on Thursday that the authorities would hold a direct dialog with representatives of trades unions and merchants, but did not give any other details.
Merchants, shop owners and students in a number of Iranian universities have been demonstrating for days and closing major bazaars. The government shut down much of the country on Wednesday by declaring a holiday due to cold weather.
Authorities have in recent years quashed protests over issues ranging from high prices, droughts, women’s rights and political freedoms, often with tough security measures and extensive arrests.
Iran’s economy has been struggling for years, chiefly because of U.S. and Western sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear program. Regional tensions led to a 12-day air war with Israel in June, further straining the country’s finances.
The Iranian rial lost around half its value against the dollar in 2025, with official inflation reaching 42.5 per cent in December.
