Thu 19 May 2022:
Social media footage not verified by Reuters showed at least six people killed and dozens injured over the past few days.
Iranian security forces fired live rounds and tear gas to disperse anti-government protesters in several provinces today, according to posts on social media, as protests triggered by rising food prices continued to spread, Reuters reports.
Iranians took to the streets last week after a cut in food subsidies caused prices to soar by as much as 300 per cent for some flour-based staples. The protests quickly turned political, with crowds calling for an end to the Islamic Republic, echoing unrest in 2019 which began over fuel prices hike.
Shahre Kord – SW #Iran
Riot police brutally arrest a man in Shahre Kord.
The date of the video is not known. #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/vgQmZTAO0O— Iran News Wire (@IranNW) May 17, 2022
More anti-regime protests tonight in Iran. Video from the city of Golpayegan, Isfahan province, Tuesday, May 17. In parts of Iran, people have been protesting every night since last Wednesday. #IranProtest2022 pic.twitter.com/KTY3OyTnvb
— AVA TODAY (@ava_today) May 17, 2022
خیابان های #گلپایگان در تسخیر مردم
شعار : #مرگ_بر_خامنه‌ای
سه شنبه ۲۷ اردیبهشت ماه #اعتراضات_سراسری pic.twitter.com/x3Wujhv0ax
— Mahy (@Mahy90900240) May 17, 2022
#اعتراضات_سراسرى#تظاهرات_سراسرى_تهران#تظاهرات_سراسرى_کرج#تهران
فریاد «مرگ بر خامنه‌ای« این زن شجاع مقابل و خطاب به خیل کثیری از ماموران، اشک به چشمان آدم می‌آورد. سلامت باشی خواهرم!#تظاهرات_سراسرى #شیرزن pic.twitter.com/nnGfrQQRln— Mansour (@MBD005) May 13, 2022
Social media footage not verified by Reuters showed at least six people killed and dozens injured over the past few days. There has been no official comment on any death toll.
Footage posted on social media today showed intense clashes in cities including Farsan in central Iran, where riot police fired live rounds at demonstrators. In Shahr-e Kord and Hafshejan, security forces used teargas and clubs to disperse the protesters.
“Fear not, fear not, we are in this together,” demonstrators in the southern city of Dezful could be seen chanting in one video.
وحوش سرکوبگر و ضدبشری رژیم آخوندی در تجمع اعتراضی مردم دلیر #شهرکرد از گازاشک‌آور استفاده کردن.
قبل از قطع اینترنت همراه در عصر یکشنبه ۲۵اردیبهشت ۱۴۰۱ در شهرکرد#اعتراضات_سراسری ٫#قیام_تا_سرنگونی pic.twitter.com/ocrsa4NMzw— sogandeshahlaee (@sogandeshahlaee) May 15, 2022
Reports say thousands took part in Behrouz Islami’s funeral today. The father of two small boys, he was shot and killed by security forces during #IranProtests on May 15 in Babaheidar, SW #Iran.
We will never forget or forgive. https://t.co/i0tykPi2hg pic.twitter.com/twDCQg73nZ
— Iran News Wire (@IranNW) May 17, 2022
May 17 – Golpayegan, Isfahan, central #Iran
Protesters chant against the regime’s all-powerful Supreme Leader.
“Khamenei is a murderer and his rule is illegitimate!”#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/Xo7AUPCa8j— Iran News Wire (@IranNW) May 17, 2022
Protesters could also be seen burning pictures of Iran’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and chanting “We don’t want the rule of the clerics”, while calling for the return of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the toppled shah of Iran.
In a video message on his Twitter account, Reza Pahlavi called for unity among Iranians “for a free Iran” and expressed condolences to the families of “those killed during the unrest”.
Senior police official Qasem Rezai warned that “illegal gatherings were intolerable and will be confronted,” according Iran’s semi-official ILNA news agency.
The government last week acknowledged the protests but described them as small gatherings. Iranian state media reported last week the arrests of “dozens of rioters and provocateurs”.
The government has cut subsidies for basic goods including cooking oil and dairy products in a move it has described as “fair redistribution” of subsidies to lower-income people.
Almost half of Iran’s population of 85 million lives under the poverty line, according to official figures. Combined with rising inflation, growing unemployment, a slump in the national currency and state corruption, US sanctions have further crippled the economy.
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