TEHRAN: Continued protests across Iran over the country’s worsening economic situation have left at least 10 people dead, authorities said Saturday.
The demonstrations, fueled by rising inflation and the collapsing value of the rial, have spread to more than 100 locations in 22 provinces, with clashes between protesters and security forces showing no sign of easing.
Authorities reported two additional fatalities Saturday amid protests sparked by Iran’s economic crisis. The deaths bring the total confirmed casualties in the demonstrations to at least 10.
In Qom, a man was killed when a grenade exploded. Officials said the individual was allegedly carrying the device to use against others in the city, located about 130 kilometers south of Tehran. Online videos from Qom showed fires and unrest in the streets overnight.
A second death occurred in Harsin, approximately 370 kilometers southwest of the capital, where a member of the paramilitary Basij force died in an attack involving a gun and a knife, according to local reports.
Demonstrations have been reported in over 100 locations across 22 of Iran’s 31 provinces, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Protesters have voiced concerns about inflation, unemployment, and the rapid devaluation of the national currency, the rial, which has recently reached roughly 1.4 million rials to the US dollar.
President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government has indicated a willingness to engage with protesters, but officials acknowledge the challenges posed by the country’s ongoing economic difficulties.
The protests mark the largest wave of civil unrest in Iran since 2022, when nationwide demonstrations followed the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. While the current unrest has not reached the same intensity or scale, it demonstrates sustained public dissatisfaction with economic conditions.
