Protesters march on a bridge in Tehran, Iran. (AP/ File) Protests in Iran have widened over soaring inflation as a rights group said on Sunday that at least 16 people have been killed across the country after violent clashes were reported between demonstrators and security forces. Rights groups and state media, both have reported about deaths and arrests through the week in the country but their counts have differed.
The protests, which are the biggest in the past three years, come at a time when Tehran is still reeling under the after-effects of a 12-day war launched by Israel in June last year that saw the United States join in to bomb nuclear sites in Iran. Economic pressure has intensified in Iran after the United Nations imposed sanctions on the country over its atomic programme. Iran’s currency has plunged to 1.4 million Rial to $1.
Meanwhile, Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance”, which includes militant groups and countries that support Tehran, have also faced decimation since Israel launched its war against Hamas militants in 2023. Some of the members of “Axis of Resistance” include Lebanon-based Hezbollah, Gaza-based Hamas and Yemen-based Houthi militant groups.
US President Donald Trump has warned that his administration would intervene to protect the demonstrators and said, “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
Protests spread in Iran
Demonstrations against the theocratic rule have spread to over 170 locations in 25 of Iran’s 31 provinces, a US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported on Sunday. The rights group added that the death toll has reached 16 and close to 600 people have been arrested by security personnel.
Story continues below this ad
It has been difficult to measure the scale of protests in Iran as the state media hasn’t provided much information on the death toll and arrests made by the administration. Protests, which have entered into their second week, don’t appear to be stopping even after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday said “rioters must be put in their place.”
Why are people protesting in Iran
The collapse of Iran’s currency Rial has led to a widening economic crisis in the Islamic Republic with the annual inflation rate going up to 40 per cent compared to the previous year, and prices of rice, meat and other staples have soared. The country, which has some of the world’s cheapest gas, increased the price of nationally subsidised gasoline last month after introducing a new pricing tier.
The protests in Iran started with merchants launching demonstrations against the administration over economic issues but it soon transformed into protesters chanting anti-government statements as well.
(with inputs from agencies)
