Iran Protests: Security Force Member Killed in Clashes

A member of Iran’s security forces has been killed and several others injured during a fourth day of protests sparked by a currency collapse, officials said Wednesday. The unrest, which began in Tehran, has spread to multiple cities across the country, with demonstrators chanting against the nation’s clerical rulers.

Iran Protests: Security Force Member Killed

Amir Hessam Khodayari Fard, a member of Iran’s security forces, was killed in the city of Kouhdasht, in the western Lorestan province, according to Iran’s judiciary-affiliated Mizan news agency, citing regional chief justice Saeed Shahvari. A number of other security force members were also reported injured.

Footage verified by BBC Persian appears to show security forces firing at protesters in Kouhdasht on Wednesday. Confrontations were also reported in the southern province of Fars and the western province of Hamedan.

In Fars province, protesters attempted to break into a local government building, resulting in injuries to three police officers and four arrests in the city of Fasa. Video verified by the BBC shows a crowd breaching the gate of the governor’s office in the city, followed by security forces firing and the deployment of tear gas.

Government Response and Arrests

Authorities declared Wednesday a bank holiday in Tehran, ostensibly to save energy due to cold weather, but widely seen as an attempt to quell the unrest. A 21-year-old member of the Basij – a paramilitary force linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) – was also killed in Kouhdasht, with thirteen police officers and Basij members injured by stone throwing, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

Twenty protesters were arrested in Kouhdasht on Wednesday night, the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency reported. Schools, universities, and public institutions were closed nationwide due to the public holiday.

President Masoud Pezeshkian has stated his government will listen to the “legitimate demands” of the protesters. However, Prosecutor General Mohammad Movahedi-Azad warned that any attempt to create instability would be met with a “decisive response.”

The protests are the most widespread since an uprising in 2022 sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, though they have not reached the same scale. Tight security is reported in areas of Tehran where demonstrations began.

The unrest initially began among shopkeepers angered by a sharp fall in the value of the Iranian currency against the US dollar.