Escalating Iran Protests: Violent Clashes Erupt Across Multiple Provinces

Fri Jan 09 2026 08:14:51 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Protests in Iran evolve into violent confrontations with security forces as demonstrations against the economic crisis escalate, leading to fatalities and widespread unrest.

On Wednesday, Iran witnessed intensified protests as clashes between anti-government demonstrators and security forces erupted in several cities, including Lordegan and Abadan. The unrest, now in its 11th day, has claimed at least 34 lives and sparked arrests of over 2,200 individuals nationwide. Economic grievances, particularly the plummeting value of the Iranian rial, have driven citizens to take to the streets calling for change. The Iranian government has responded with mixed tactics regarding the protesters, whom they distinguish from 'rioters,' all amid fears of international intervention.

There were violent clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces in several locations in Iran on Wednesday, as a wave of unrest sparked by the country's economic crisis continued for an 11th day.

Iran's semi-official Fars news agency, which is close to the Revolutionary Guards, said two policemen were shot and killed by armed individuals in the south-western town of Lordegan.

Videos posted on social media showed a tense stand-off between protesters and security forces, with the sound of gunfire in the background.

In footage from several other areas, security forces appear to fire guns and tear gas towards crowds of protesters, some of whom are throwing stones.

The protests have so far spread to 111 cities and towns across all 31 provinces, according to the US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA).

It has reported that at least 34 protesters and four security personnel have been killed during the unrest, and that 2,200 protesters have been arrested.

BBC Persian has confirmed the deaths and identities of 21 people, while Iranian authorities have reported the deaths of five security personnel.

The protests began on 28 December, when shopkeepers took to the streets of the capital, Tehran, to express their anger at another sharp fall in the value of the Iranian currency, the rial, against the US dollar on the open market.

The rial has sunk to a record low over the past year and inflation has soared to 40% as sanctions over Iran's nuclear programme squeeze an economy also weakened by government mismanagement and corruption.

University students soon joined the protests and they began spreading to other cities, with crowds frequently heard chanting slogans against the country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and sometimes in support of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's late former shah.

On Wednesday, videos verified by BBC Persian showed crowds protesting in Qazvin, north-west of Tehran, and chanting slogans including Death to the dictator - a reference to Khamenei - as well as Long live the shah.

In the Shia holy city of Mashhad, in the country's north-west, protesters were seen clashing with security forces and forcing them to retreat.

Following a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Vice-President for Executive Affairs Mohammad Jafar Qaempanah said President Masoud Pezeshkian had ordered that no security measures be taken against peaceful protesters. However, he stated that those carrying firearms were rioters that authorities would respond to accordingly.

The situation remains fluid, with reports of increasing casualties and a complex government response aimed at both addressing economic grievances and controlling the unrest.