A member of Iran's security forces was killed during a fourth day of protests in the country, sparked by a currency collapse, as reported by the semi-official Fars news agency.
According to regional official Said Pourali, the incident took place in the city of Kouhdasht in western Lorestan province. Multiple security personnel were also reported injured during the clashes.
Verified footage by BBC Persian showed security forces engaging with protesters in the same area, while further confrontations were noted in the southern province of Fars and western provinces of Hamedan and Lorestan.
To manage the tense situation, Iranian authorities declared a bank holiday in the capital, Tehran, aiming to reduce unrest following its initiation on Sunday.
Fars news indicated the death of a 21-year-old member of the Basij paramilitary force during a clash in Kouhdasht, while stone-throwing protests resulted in injuries to thirteen police officers and Basij personnel.
The unrest has spread to additional cities where demonstrators attempted to storm a government building; three police were injured, and four arrests were reported in Fasa.
Video footage circulating on social media shows protesters breaching the gates of the governor's office, followed by security forces retaliating with gunfire and tear gas.
Amid the unrest, schools, universities, and other institutions were closed due to the last-minute holiday announced by the government, which was publicly attributed to energy conservation measures but widely viewed as a strategy to stifle protests.
The protests originated from Tehran, as shopkeepers reacted angrily to the significant depreciation of the Iranian currency against the US dollar. By Tuesday, university students joined the protests as they spread through various cities, with demonstrators calling for an end to the regime of clerical rulers.
This unrest represents one of the most extensive public outcries since the protest movement that followed the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, although its scale has not yet reached those levels.
In response to the ongoing demonstrations, a robust security presence has been noted in areas of Tehran where protests initially began. President Masoud Pezeshkian assured that the government would heed the 'legitimate demands' of the protesters. Conversely, prosecutor general Mohammad Movahedi-Azad warned against any attempts to instigate instability, pledging a decisive response to such actions.
