The largest #protests in #Iran for three years entered a fifth day on Thursday
amid reports of deadly clashes between protesters and security forces,
with state-affiliated media confirming at least two people had been #killed.
Although state media did not identify those killed, witnesses and videos circulating on social media appear to show protesters lying motionless on the ground after security forces opened fire
The Guardian has also received images showing two bodies bearing what appear to be #pellet and #bullet wounds,
though the circumstances surrounding the images could not be independently verified.
The Oslo-based ⭐️Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights said one of those killed had been struck by live ammunition and died before being taken to a medical facility.
The two deaths were reported to have occurred in the southwestern city of #Lordegan.
The protests,
initially sparked by the collapse of the national currency,
began on Sunday in the capital, #Tehran, but have since spread to cities across the country,
with demonstrators chanting for #economic #justice 💥and demanding an end to the regime.
Roya Boroumand, managing director of the
⭐️Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran,
said the protests were being driven by the drop in the value of currency and its impact on the cost of living.
“Iranians are living below #poverty lines in increasing numbers and have no hope [of] any notable improvement of their living conditions,” she said.
“They are angry at the state’s #mismanagement and #corruption, and policies that are causing misery inside the country.
👉“The state deems any protest that is anti-government illegal
and the law does not really open space to legal protest.
That is why we see a pattern of popular outbursts and deadly crackdown.”
The protests come after a year of a record number of #executions in Iran,
with more than 1,500 people put to death in 2025
– the highest number since 1989.
Human rights groups say the Iranian authorities have used the #death #penalty to instil fear among the population and crush dissent.
“Executions are being carried out following grossly unfair trials held behind closed doors,
amid widespread patterns of #torture and #forced #confessions,”
said Amnesty director Hussein Baoumi.
