Iran protests LIVE updates: Clashes claim 7 lives as citizens take to streets over crumbling economy
Supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran rally outside the White House in the US (AP).
Iran protests death toll LIVE updates: Unrest in Iran continued to intensify, with reports of additional deaths as protests over the rising cost of living entered a fifth day. As per news agency AP, at least seven people have been killed in the clashes between citizens and security forces. Footage shared on social media on Thursday showed vehicles ablaze amid running confrontations between protesters and security personnel. Many demonstrators were heard chanting slogans against the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while some called for the restoration of the monarchy. Reports of unrest emerged from multiple parts of the country triggered by a sharp collapse in the national currency. Videos verified by BBC Persian showed protests taking place in Lordegan, the capital Tehran, and Marvdasht in southern Fars province.
Violence in Iran forces school shutdown: Authorities shut schools, universities and public institutions nationwide on Wednesday after declaring a bank holiday, a move widely viewed as an attempt to curb the protests. Officials said the closures were due to energy conservation needs amid cold weather, but many Iranians interpreted them as a security measure.
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Why protests are occurring in Iran: The demonstrations initially began in Tehran, led by shopkeepers angered by another steep fall in the value of the rial against the US dollar on the open market. By Tuesday, university students had joined the protests, which quickly spread to other cities. While the current unrest is being described as the most widespread since the 2022 protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody, it has not yet reached the same scale. President Masoud Pezeshkian has said his administration is prepared to listen to what he described as the “legitimate demands” of protesters. At the same time, Prosecutor General Mohammad Movahedi-Azad warned that any attempts to undermine stability would be met with what he called a “decisive response.”
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