At least 1 dead in Iran protests against falling currency, inflation

by · UPI

Jan. 1 (UPI) -- At least one person is dead and possibly more after protests broke out across Iran against high inflation and a currency collapse.

The protests have been happening for five days. At first, it was mostly merchants and university students in major cities, but now smaller cities are participating.

The semiofficial Tasnim news agency quoted Kazem Nazari, a prosecutor, as saying that 13 officers were injured and that one member of the Basij militia, which works with Iran's security forces, died of his "severe injuries."

But the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, a Kurdish rights organization, said the man was Amir Hossam Khodayarifard, 22, from Kohdasht, Iran. It said he was not a member of the Basij and had been shot by government police forces. His death and his identity can't be confirmed.

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"Protests and strikes in Iran began on [Dec. 28], at the same time as the dollar price crossed one million and 450 thousand rials and the price of foreign currencies reached an unprecedented and continuous record and the value of the currency decreased, and have been violently suppressed by government forces," a statement from Hengaw said.

The country shut down Wednesday, though the government said the reason was cold weather.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visited Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari provinces on Thursday. He said it's important for the government to help people.

"If people are dissatisfied; we are to blame," he said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. "Do not look for America or anyone else to blame. We must serve properly so that people are satisfied with us."

Pezeshkian also said, "According to God's Koran, if we do not solve people's problems, we will have a place in hell."

Prosecutor General Mohammad Movahedi-Azad has warned that any attempt to create instability would receive a "decisive response."

Some protesters have called for ending the rule of the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. Others have called for a return to monarchy.

Videos verified by BBC Persian show protests in the city of Lordegan, the capital Tehran and Marvdasht in the Fars province on Thursday.

The Fars news agency reported that two people were killed in Lordegan. It didn't identify the victims.

Hengaw said the two killed were protesters named Ahmad Jalil and Sajjad Valamanesh. Those deaths haven't been verified, BBC said.