Two people killed in clashes between Iranian protesters and security forces

Two people were reportedly killed as unrest intensified as protests in Iran over soaring living costs entered their fifth day.

The semi-official Fars news agency and human rights group Hengaw both said people were killed in clashes between protesters and security forces in the city of Lodgan in southwestern Iran.

Videos posted on social media on Thursday showed cars being set on fire during fights between protesters and security forces.

Many protesters called for an end to the country’s top leader’s rule. Some have also called for the restoration of the monarchy.

Thursday marked the fifth day of protests in cities across the country over the currency collapse.

Video verified by BBC Persian showed protests on Thursday in the central city of Lodgan, the capital Tehran and Marfdasht in the southern province of Fars.

Two people were killed in Lodgan, Fales said, citing an official familiar with the matter. The report did not specify whether those killed were protesters or members of the security forces.

Rights group Hengaw said two of those killed were protesters, Ahmad Jalil and Sajjad Valamanesh.

BBC Persian has not been able to independently verify the deaths.

Separately, state media said a member of the security forces linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was killed in clashes with protesters on Wednesday. Night in the city of Kudasht in the western province of Lorestan.

Protesters said the man was one of their own and was shot dead by security forces, which has not been confirmed by the BBC.

Thirteen other police officers and Basij members were injured in the area as a result of stone-throwing, state media reported.

On Wednesday, authorities declared a bank holiday to try to quell the unrest, and schools, universities and public institutions were closed across the country.

Ostensibly this is to save energy due to cold weather, but many Iranians believe it is an attempt to curb the protests.

They started in Tehran, where shopkeepers were angry that Iran’s currency had fallen sharply against the dollar again on the open market.

By Tuesday, university students were participating and it had spread to several cities, with people chanting against the country’s religious rulers.

They are the most widespread protests since the 2022 uprising sparked by the death in custody of young woman Mahsa Amini, who was accused by moral police of not wearing the hijab properly. But they are not on the same scale.

In order to prevent the situation from escalating, tight security measures are currently in place in the area of ​​Tehran where the demonstrations began.

President Masoud Pezeshkian said his government would listen to the protesters’ “legitimate demands.”

But Attorney General Mohamed Mowahedi-Azad also warned that any attempt to sow instability would be met with what he called a “decisive response”.