Protests fueled by Iran’s deepening economic crisis turned deadly as demonstrations entered a fifth day on Thursday, with reports of multiple deaths amid escalating confrontations between protesters and security forces across the country.
Despite the arrival of the new year, unrest has intensified since nationwide protests erupted late last month following the collapse of the national currency and surging living costs. State media confirmed that several people were killed in the violence but did not identify the victims. Officials also acknowledged the death of a member of Iran’s security forces.
According to witnesses and videos circulating on social media, security forces opened fire on demonstrators in several locations, leaving protesters lying motionless on streets filled with smoke and chaos. At least two civilian deaths were reported in the southwestern city of Lordegan. The Norway-based human rights group Hengaw said one victim was struck by live ammunition and died before reaching a medical facility.
Activists and rights organizations warn that authorities are responding with increasing force. “It’s a battlefield here, and security forces are firing mercilessly,” one eyewitness said. Iranian wrestler Ebrahim Eshaghi, speaking from his hometown, said two young people had been killed and many injured. “We ask the people of the world to be our voice,” he said.
The protests began in Tehran on December 29 and quickly spread to cities including Isfahan, Mashhad, Ahvaz, and Hamadan. Initially driven by economic grievances, the demonstrations have taken on overtly political overtones, with crowds chanting slogans calling for the end of the current regime and invoking the return of Iran’s former monarchy.
Analysts say the unrest reflects long-simmering frustration. “Iranians are increasingly living below the poverty line and see no hope for improvement,” said Roya Boroumand of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights. “Anger over mismanagement and corruption is boiling over.”
The protests follow a year marked by a record number of executions in Iran, which rights groups say are used to suppress dissent. President Masoud Pezeshkian has pledged to hear “legitimate demands,” while judicial authorities have warned of a “decisive response” to any unrest deemed destabilizing.
