Protests over Iran’s struggling economy have reportedly claimed the lives of at least six people.

Wide demonstrations erupted as Iran’s deteriorating economy sparked unrest in the Islamic republic’s rural provinces on Thursday, resulting in at least six deaths in the first clashes between security forces and protesters, officials said.

The deaths could mark the beginning of a tough response by Iran’s theocracy to the demonstrations, which have slowed in the capital Tehran but have spread elsewhere.

One death on Wednesday and five on Thursday occurred in three cities primarily home to Iran’s Lur ethnic group.

Protests in Iran became largest since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in 2022. Nationwide demonstrations began over police custody.

However, demonstrations remain localised and less intense than those surrounding the death of Amini, who was detained for not wearing a hijab or headscarf as authorities preferred.

In the latest protests based on economic issues, demonstrators have also been heard chanting slogans against Iran’s theocracy.

The country’s leaders are still reeling after Israel launched a 12-day war against the country in June. The US also bombed Iranian nuclear sites during the war.

“The people of Iran want freedom. They have suffered for too long at the hands of the Ayatollahs,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said in a statement. post on X earlier this week.

He said, “We stand with Iranians in the streets of Tehran and across the country as they protest a fundamentalist regime that has given them nothing but economic recession and war.”

The most intense violence occurred in Azna, a city in Iran’s Lorestan province, about 185 miles southwest of Tehran.

There, online videos reportedly showed objects on the street burning and gunshots echoing as people shouted, “Shameless! Shameless!”

The semi-official Fars news agency reported the deaths of three people.

Other media, including pro-reform outlets, cited Fars for reports, while state-run media did not fully acknowledge the violence there or elsewhere.

Uncertainty surrounded the lack of additional reporting on the unrest, but in 2022, journalists faced arrest for their reporting.

Online video captured protesters gathering on a street in Lordegan, a city in Iran’s Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, while gunshots echoed in the background.

The footage matches known features from Lordeghan, about 290 miles south of Tehran.

Fars, citing an unnamed official, reported the deaths of two people during Thursday’s protests.

Boroumand Centre for Human Rights in Iran,

The Abdurrahman Boroumand Centre for Human Rights in Iran, based in Washington, confirmed the death of two protesters there. The report also featured a still image of an Iranian police officer, clad in body armour and wielding a gun.

In 2019, the area around Loredan saw widespread protests, which reportedly damaged government buildings.

This followed a report indicating that people in the area had contracted HIV from contaminated needles used at a local healthcare clinic.

A 21-year-old volunteer from the Basij force of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard reportedly died during a separate demonstration on Wednesday night.

The state-run IRNA news agency reported the guard member’s death but did not provide details.

Student News Network, an Iranian news agency considered close to the Basij, directly blamed protesters for the death of the Guard member, citing comments by Saeed Pourali, the deputy governor of Lorestan province.

“The Guard member was martyred at the hands of rioters during protests in this city to protect public order,” he reportedly said. He reported that 13 other Basij members and police officers sustained injuries.

“The protests that have taken place are due to economic pressures, inflation, and currency fluctuations, and they are an expression of livelihood concerns,” Pourali said. “

The voices of citizens must be heard carefully and tactfully, but people must not be pressured into their demands by profit-seeking individuals.”

The protest took place in the city of Kouhdasht, 250 miles southwest of Tehran. Local prosecutor Kazem Nazari said 20 people had been arrested following the protests and peace had returned to the city, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported.

Iran’s civilian government, led by reformist President Massoud Pezeshkian, has been trying to signal that it is willing to negotiate with protesters.

However, Pezeshkian admitted he could not do much, as Iran’s rial currency has depreciated sharply, with $1 now worth about 1.4 million rials.

Meanwhile, state television separately reported the arrest of seven people, including five it said were monarchists and two others it said were linked to European-based groups.

State TV also said that in another operation, security forces seized 100 smuggled pistols, without elaborating.

Iran’s theocracy declared a public holiday across much of the country on Wednesday to draw people out of the capital for the long weekend, citing cold weather.

Iranian weekends are Thursday and Friday, while Saturday is Imam Ali’s birthday, another holiday for many.