August M
Iran has been gripped by escalating unrest as protesters continue to challenge authorities despite a violent crackdown. Demonstrations have spread across the country, underscoring deep anger over economic hardship and political rule.
Human rights groups say the growing death toll has failed to deter crowds from returning to the streets.
Protests spread
According to NBC News, demonstrations began last week after Iran’s currency plunged, intensifying public frustration over inflation and living costs.
What started as economic protests quickly turned political, with chants directed at the country’s clerical leadership.
On Tuesday, crowds again gathered in Tehran and smaller cities. The rial fell to a record low of 1.46 million to the dollar, a development analysts say could prolong the unrest.
Deadly crackdown
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported that at least 36 people have been killed since the protests began 10 days ago, including 34 demonstrators and two members of the security forces. More than 2,000 people have been arrested, the group said.
Videos verified by NBC News show security forces firing tear gas in central Tehran, including near the capital’s main bazaar.
Gunshots can be heard in some footage as protesters scatter through narrow streets while chanting slogans against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Political response
President Masoud Pezeshkian, viewed as a relative moderate, has urged that protesters’ demands be heard and said he asked the interior minister to engage with the movement. However, the demonstrations are diffuse and largely leaderless.
“The system has responded to these protests with a combination of conciliatory rhetoric and brute force,” Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, told NBC News. “The fact that neither has worked indicates that the former falls well short of what the protesters want, and the latter has failed to deter them.”
Judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei warned there would be “no room for leniency for rioters and agitators,” accusing the United States and Israel of backing unrest, according to state media.
Bazaar symbolism
Unrest near Tehran’s historic bazaar has heightened official concern because of its symbolic role in Iran’s past upheavals. NBC News noted that merchant protests and shop closures were key factors in the 1979 revolution that toppled the monarchy.
Analysts say the renewed focus on the bazaar adds to government fears that economic anger could once again translate into broader political challenge.
Regional violence
Some of the worst bloodshed has occurred in western Iran. The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported that security forces opened fire on protesters in the town of Malekshahi on Saturday, killing five people and wounding more than 40 others.
NBC News verified video showing gunfire near crowds and later scenes at a hospital in Ilam, where Hengaw said security forces stormed the compound while treating the wounded.
President Pezeshkian later ordered an investigation into the unrest in the province, according to Iranian media.
Sources: NBC News, HRANA, Hengaw Organization for Human Rights
