At least 7 killed as protests over ailing economy spread across Iran

Widening demonstrations sparked by Irans ailing economy spread Thursday into the Islamic Republics rural provinces with at least seven people being killed in the first fatalities reported among security forces and protesters authorities saidThe deaths may mark the start of a heavierhanded response by Irans theocracy over the demonstrations which have slowed in the capital Tehran but expanded elsewhere The fatalities two on Wednesday and five on Thursday occurred in four cities largely home to Irans Lur ethnic groupThe protests have become the biggest in Iran since 2022 when the death of 22yearold Mahsa Amini in police custody triggered nationwide demonstrations However the demonstrations have yet to be countrywide and have not been as intense as those surrounding the death of Amini who was detained over not wearing her hijab or headscarf to the liking of authoritiesThe mostintense violence appeared to strike Azna a city in Irans Lorestan province some 300 kilometers 185 miles southwest of Tehran There online videos purported to show objects in the street ablaze and gunfire echoing as people shouted Shameless ShamelessThe semiofficial Fars news agency reported three people had been killed Other media including proreform outlets cited Fars for the report while staterun media did not fully acknowledge the violence there or elsewhere It wasnt clear why there wasnt more reporting over the unrest but journalists had faced arrest over their reporting in 2022In Lordegan a city in Irans Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province online videos showed demonstrators gathered on a street with the sound of gunfire in the background The footage matched known features of Lordegan some 470 kilometers 290 miles south of TehranFars citing an anonymous official said two people had been killed during the protests Thursday The Washingtonbased Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran said two people had been killed there identifying the dead as demonstrators It also shared a still image of what appeared to be an Iranian police officer wearing body armor and wielding a shotgunIn 2019 the area around Lordegan saw widespread protests and demonstrators reportedly damaged government buildings after a report said people there had been infected with HIV by contaminated needles used at a local health care clinic In Fuladshahr in Irans Isfahan province state media reported on the death of a man there Thursday that activist groups attributed to the police opening fire on demonstratorsProtests due to economic pressuresA separate demonstration Wednesday night reportedly led to the 21yearold volunteer in the paramilitary Revolutionary Guards Basij force The staterun IRNA news agency reported on the Guard members death but did not elaborate An Iranian news agency called the Student News Network which is believed to be close to the Basij directly blamed demonstrators for the Guard members death citing comments from Saeed Pourali a deputy governor in Lorestan provinceThe Guard member was martyred at the hands of rioters during protests in this city in defense of public order he reportedly said Another 13 Basij members and police officers suffered injuries he addedThe protests that have occurred are due to economic pressures inflation and currency fluctuations and are an expression of livelihood concerns Pourali said The voices of citizens must be heard carefully and tactfully but people must not allow their demands to be strained by profitseeking individualsThe protests took place in the city of Kouhdasht over 400 kilometers 250 miles southwest of Tehran Local prosecutor Kazem Nazari said 20 people had been arrested after the protests and that calm had returned to the city the judiciarys Mizan news agency reportedCurrency fall sparks protestsIrans civilian government under reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian has been trying to signal it wants to negotiate with protesters However Pezeshkian has acknowledged there is not much he can do as Irans rial currency has rapidly depreciated with 1 now costing some 14 million rialsMeanwhile state television separately reported on the arrests of seven people including five it described as monarchists and two others it said had linked to Europeanbased groups State TV also said another operation saw security forces confiscate 100 smuggled pistols without elaboratingIrans theocracy had declared Wednesday a public holiday across much of the country citing cold weather likely as a bid to get people out of the capital for a long weekend The Iranian weekend is Thursday and Friday while Saturday marks Imam Alis birthday another holiday for manyThe protests taking root in economic issues have heard demonstrators chant against Irans theocracy as well The countrys leaders are still reeling after Israel launched a 12day war against the country in June The US also bombed Iranian nuclear sites during the warIran has said it is no longer enriching uranium at any site in the country trying to signal to the West that it remains open to potential negotiations over its atomic program to ease sanctions However those talks have yet to happen as US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have warned Tehran against reconstituting its atomic programThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever