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Several people were killed in unrest in Iran, Iranian media and human rights groups said on Thursday, as the Islamic Republic’s biggest protests in three years sparked violence in several provinces over the worsening economic situation.
The semi-official Fars news agency reported that three protesters were killed and 17 injured in an attack on a police station in Iran’s western Lorestan province.
Fars said that demonstrators entered police headquarters at around 6pm local time on Thursday, where they “clashed with police forces and set fire to several police cars”.
Previously, Fars and human rights group Hengaw reported deaths in the town of Lordegan in the country’s Charmahal and Bakhtiari province. Authorities confirmed one death in the western city of Kuhdasht and Hengaw reported another death in the central province of Isfahan.
The clashes between protesters and security forces mark a significant escalation in unrest that has spread across the country since shopkeepers protested on Sunday against the government’s handling of a sharp currency decline and rapidly rising prices.
The protests spread across Iran
Fars reported that two people were killed in clashes between security services and allegedly armed protesters in Lordegan. It was previously said that several had died. Hengaw said several people were killed and injured by security forces there.
The Revolutionary Guard said a member of its affiliated volunteer paramilitary Basij unit, Amirhossam Khodayari Fard, was killed and another 13 wounded in Kuhdasht.
The Basij are a volunteer paramilitary force loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Guards on Thursday accused those involved in the unrest in Kuhdasht of “taking advantage of the atmosphere of popular protests.”
However, Hengaw said the man protested and was killed by security forces.
Hengaw also reported that a protester was shot dead in Isfahan province in central Iran on Wednesday.
Reuters was unable to immediately verify any of these reports.
Protests also broke out in Marvdasht in the southern province of Fars on Thursday, activist news site HRANA reported. Hengaw said protesters were arrested in the western provinces of Kermanshah, Khuzestan and Hamedan on Wednesday.
Government shutdown
Iran’s clerical rulers are grappling with Western sanctions that have battered an economy already suffering from inflation topping 40 percent, exacerbated by Israeli and U.S. airstrikes in June targeting the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile infrastructure and military leadership.
In addition to its security response, Tehran has responded to the protests with an offer of dialogue.
Government spokesman Fatemeh Mohajerani said on Thursday that authorities would hold direct dialogue with representatives of unions and traders, but gave no further details.
Traders, shopkeepers and students from several Iranian universities have been demonstrating for days and closing large bazaars. The government locked down large parts of the country on Wednesday by declaring a public holiday due to the cold weather.
Authorities have crushed protests in recent years over issues such as high prices, drought, women’s rights and political freedoms, often with tight security and widespread arrests.
Iran’s economy has been struggling for years, largely due to 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 about half of its value against the dollar in 2025, with official inflation reaching 42.5 percent in December.
