Growing unrest in Iran is reported to have claimed more lives on a fifth day of protests over the soaring cost of living. At least six people have been killed as demonstrations spread to more parts of the country. Three people were killed and 17 others were injured in the city of Azna in Lorestan province, some 300 km southwest of Tehran, Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency reported on Thursday. The human rights group, Hengaw, said two people had died during clashes between protesters and security forces in the city of Lordegan, in south-western Iran. On Thursday videos posted on social media showed cars set on fire during running battles between protesters and security forces. Many protesters have called for ending the rule of the country's supreme leader. Some have also called for a return to the monarchy. As the day wore on more reports came in of unrest up and down the country. Videos shared online show protests in the central city of Lordegan, the capital Tehran and Marvdasht in the southern Fars province taking place on Thursday. Separately state media said a member of the security forces linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) was killed in clashes with protesters on Wednesday night in the city of Kouhdasht, in the western Lorestan province. A further 13 police officers and Basij members were injured by stone throwing in the area, the state media report said. Schools, universities and public institutions were closed across the country on Wednesday after a bank holiday was declared by authorities in an apparent effort to quell the unrest. President Masoud Pezeshkian has said his government will listen to the "legitimate demands" of the protesters. But Iran's prosecutor general has warned that any attempt to create instability would be met with "decisive response". "Any attempt to turn economic protests into a tool of insecurity, destruction of public property, or implementation of externally designed scenarios will inevitably be met with a legal, proportionate and decisive response," Mohammad Movahedi-Azad said on Wednesday. The unrest comes at a critical moment for Iran as Western sanctions hammer an economy hit by 40 percent inflation, and after air strikes by Israel and the United States in June targeted the country's nuclear infrastructure and military leadership. — Agencies
