Reuters could not immediately verify the reports.
The clashes mark a significant escalation in the unrest that has spread across the country since shopkeepers began protesting on Sunday. What started with merchant anger over the government’s handling of the economy soon morphed into broader anti-regime demonstrations, with students from a number of Iranian universities joining in.
As the protests entered their fifth day, clashes intensified in several locations, London’s Telegraph reported. Protesters in more than a dozen cities chanted, “this year is a year of blood, Seyyed Ali will be overthrown” and “death to the dictator” – a reference to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The government shut down much of the country on Wednesday, declaring a holiday due to cold weather.
The unrest has spread rapidly across Iran on a scale not seen since 2022 protests that followed the death in police custody of Mahsa Jina Amini, 22, who had been arrested for allegedly not wearing her hijab correctly.
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Protests also took place on Thursday in Marvdasht in the southern Fars province, activist news site HRANA reported, while Hengaw said demonstrators had been detained the previous day in the western provinces of Kermanshah, Khuzestan and Hamedan.
Workers from Tehran’s massive fruits market joined the protests on Thursday, the Telegraph reported, citing footage online showing crowds demonstrating against rising prices. The market has been particularly hard hit by currency fluctuations that have driven up the cost of imported goods.
Residents in multiple cities told the Telegraph that security forces had blocked roads and maintained a heavy armed presence on the streets.
Siamak, a boutique owner in Nahavand, told the Telegraph that riot squads and protesters clashed on Wednesday night and Thursday morning
“They were shooting pellets without any regard for whether they would kill or blind people. I saw two people soaked in blood,” he said.
Iran’s clerical rulers are grappling with Western sanctions that have battered an economy already reeling from more than 40 per cent inflation, compounded by Israeli and US airstrikes in June targeting the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile infrastructure and military leadership.
The Iranian rial lost about half its value against the US dollar in 2025, with official inflation reaching 42.5 per cent in December. Young people also face high unemployment, even after years of study.
Tehran has in recent years responded violently to protests over issues ranging from high prices, droughts, women’s rights and political freedoms.
Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said on Thursday that the authorities would hold a direct dialogue with representatives of trade unions and merchants, without giving details.
Protesters, however, have vowed not to back down. Houman, an arts student at a university in Tehran, told the Telegraph that he had joined the protests on Tuesday night – knowing he could be killed.
“Most of us understand the risks, yet we still go because we are tired of the regime,” he said.
“They have made our lives miserable just to fund Gaza and Lebanon. We are facing economic hardship, and sometimes I struggle to afford even a pack of cigarettes.
“People reached a breaking point a long time ago, and now they are showing their frustration. We have nothing to lose. I would be happy if they killed me – we will not back down this time.”
President Masoud Pezeshkian has said there was little he could do as Iran’s rial currency rapidly depreciated, but on Thursday he said the government urgently needed to address the concerns.
“According to God’s Koran, if we do not solve people’s problems, we will have a place in hell,” he said in an interview with a local television station during a visit to southwestern Iran, The New York Times reported.
Reuters, AP
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