Security forces member shot and killed in western Iran

A member of the security forces was killed “with a bladed weapon and by gunfire” in western Iran, the Mehr news agency reported Saturday, on the seventh consecutive day of protests that began over rising living costs and have since expanded to include political demands.

“Ali Azizi, a member of the Basij, became a martyr after being stabbed with a bladed weapon and killed by gunfire in the city of Harsin during a gathering of armed rioters” on Friday, Mehr said, citing a statement from the Revolutionary Guard, the ideological arm of the Islamic Republic. The Basij are Islamist volunteer militias affiliated with the Guards.

In recent days, at least eight people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, according to an official toll.

The protests have affected, to varying degrees, at least 25 cities, according to an AFP tally based on official statements and media reports. Mostly medium-sized cities in the west and southwest have reported incidents of destruction and, in some cases, deadly clashes.

The Fars news agency reported gatherings on Friday in several working-class neighborhoods of the capital, Tehran, a city of about 10 million residents. On Saturday, a public holiday, the situation appeared calm, with largely empty streets amid rainy and snowy weather, AFP observed.

In Darehshahr, in western Iran, about 300 people threw Molotov cocktails, blocked streets, and “brandished Kalashnikovs” on Friday, Fars reported. According to the Tasnim agency, citing a local official, a man was also killed Friday in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran, when a grenade he allegedly intended to use exploded “in his hands.”

Authorities and Iranian media do not consistently report each incident in detail, making it difficult to fully assess developments. Videos linked to the protests continue to circulate widely on social media, though many cannot be independently verified.

Political demands

The movement began Sunday in Tehran, where shopkeepers closed their stores to protest hyperinflation and a stagnant economy. It later spread to universities and cities across the country, with grievances increasingly taking on political dimensions.

In Karaj, on the outskirts of Tehran, “a few people burned the Iranian flag while shouting ‘Death to the dictator!’ and ‘This is not the last battle, Pahlavi will return!’” Fars reported, noting that the slogans provoked “reactions.” The Pahlavi dynasty (1925–1979), which was pro-Western and allied with the United States, was overthrown by the Islamic Revolution.

Since the start of the unrest, authorities have alternated between conciliatory statements, acknowledging “legitimate grievances” over economic hardship, and a firm stance against what they describe as attempts at destabilization.

The current protests remain less widespread than those that shook Iran in late 2022 following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman arrested by the morality police for allegedly violating the strict dress code for women.

In 2019, demonstrations also erupted after a sharp hike in gasoline prices. Those protests spread to around 100 cities, including Tehran, and resulted in dozens of deaths.