Protests in Iran leave several people dead across the country

Huge anti-government protests in Iran have turned deadly after the Iranian security forces open fire on civilians.

Iran has been rocked by its biggest and most violent anti-regime demonstrations in three years -  which reportedly started due to an acute economic crisis affecting the country's currency which has caused soaring inflation.

Now, as the unrest enter their fifth day, there are reports that multiple people have been killed across Iran. 

The semi-official Fars news agency cited a 'source with knowledge' as saying several people were killed in the western Iranian city. 

And the ​rights group - Hengaw - have also reported that the security forces had fired on protesters, killing and wounding several of ​them. 

They also reported that a protester was shot dead on ‍Wednesday in Isfahan province in central Iran. 

And multiple videos shared online appear to show violent clashes between protesters as well as casualties.   

The security service have also reported casualties overnight including a voluntary member of the much feared Revolutionary Guards had been killed in the western city of Kuhdasht, naming him as Amirhossam Khodayari Fard.

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. 

The reported deaths mark a significant escalation in the unrest that has spread across Iran since shopkeepers began protesting on Sunday. 

It comes at a critical moment for Iran's Islamic clerical rulers as Western sanctions hammer an economy hit by 40 per cent inflation and after Israeli and ‍U.S. airstrikes in ‍June targeted the country's nuclear infrastructure and military leadership.

Tehran has responded to the unrest with an offer of dialogue, an apparently conciliatory gesture alongside its heavy handed security response.

Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said on Thursday that the authorities would hold a direct dialogue with representatives of trades unions and merchants, but without giving details.

HRANA said late on Wednesday there was a heavy presence of security forces in cities, with arrests, shootings and clashes in some areas. State media said students were detained then released during the demonstrations.

Many Iranian social media ⁠users disputed the authorities' account of the death of a Basij paramilitary member overnight. A video widely shared online that Reuters could not immediately verify appeared to show protesters trying to get an injured person into an ambulance.

The Basij is a volunteer paramilitary force loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali ⁠Khamenei. It is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which on Thursday accused those involved in the unrest in Kuhdasht of 'taking advantage of the atmosphere of popular protests'.

But across Iran both violent and quiet resistance to the theocratic regime are taking place. 

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. 

Yesterday, a photo of a lone demonstrator defiantly sitting on the road in front of armed security forces drew parallels to the 'Tank Man' snap taken during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

The photograph, shared widely by local media including broadcaster Iran International, shows a brave protester sitting on a Tehran street in an attempt to block armed police from riding their motorbikes down the road.

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.

However, ⁠President Masoud Pezeshkian has said he had asked the interior minister to listen to 'legitimate demands' of the demonstrators.

Iran's economy has been struggling for years as a result 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 inflation ⁠reaching 42.5 per cent in December.