Tehran, Jan 4 (.) Three people were killed in clashes during protests in Iran’s western Ilam province on Saturday evening, the semi-official Fars news agency reported, citing informed sources.
Fars said “rioters” attempted to storm a law enforcement centre in Malekshahi County, triggering clashes with security forces. One member of the security forces and two “rioters” were killed, it said, adding that several others were wounded.
Earlier on Saturday, Fars reported that a member of the Basij volunteer force affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps was killed during unrest in the western province of Kermanshah. The agency said Ali Azizi died after being stabbed and shot during a protest in Harsin County on Friday.
Protests have erupted since Sunday in several Iranian cities over the sharp depreciation of the rial. Authorities have acknowledged the demonstrations and said they are prepared to address economic grievances while warning against violence, vandalism, and unrest.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that exploiting merchants’ protests to incite unrest and undermine national security was “absolutely unacceptable”.
He said officials should engage in dialogue with protesters but not with those he described as rioters, who should be “put in their place”.
Khamenei acknowledged that the rial’s decline had disrupted the business environment, blaming what he called “enemy” actions for an “unnatural” rise in foreign exchange rates. He said senior officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, were working to address the situation.
. XINHUA ARN