E-Paper
Protestors, security clash in Tehran Bazaar, cop shot dead in western Iran as toll rises
The protests were triggered by anger over the rising cost of living, as the Iranian rial lost value again on Tuesday.
Iranian security forces and protestors clashed at the Tehran Bazaar in the nation’s capital on Tuesday, with tear gas being fired to disperse demonstrators, amid the most significant protests to hit the Islamic Republic in three years.
The protests were triggered by anger over the rising cost of living, as the Iranian rial lost value again on Tuesday, reaching another record low against foreign currencies.
Iranian security forces have now killed at least 27 protesters, including five under the age of 18, after 10 days of demonstrations that began in late December, AFP reported, quoting the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR).
Iran's Fars news agency reported that "sporadic gatherings" occurred around the bazaar during an afternoon shutdown, with police dispersing the protest and demonstrators scattering into the nearby alleyways.
In social media footage verified by AFP, protesters at the scene could also be heard shouting slogans including "Pahlavi will return" and "Seyyed Ali will be overthrown" — references to the monarchy ousted by the 1979 Islamic revolution and to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Dozens of people were seen shouting "freedom" and "shameless" in footage posted by IHR and the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRNA), the report added.
Security forces then fire tear gas at the protesters, who rush to disperse as acrid smoke rises from the ground. The official IRNA news agency said "some" people were arrested, without giving numbers. News agency Fars also reported that a policeman was shot dead during a demonstration in the western province of Ilam.
The reason for the fresh Iranian protests
The protest wave began around December 28 with a shutdown by merchants in the Tehran Bazaar, a national economic hub in the capital. They have since spread to other areas, especially the west, which is home to Kurdish and Lor minority groups.
It is the most serious protest movement in the Islamic Republic since the 2022-2023 nationwide rallies sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress code for women.
