At least 36 people have been killed during ongoing protests in Iran, a US-based human rights group said, as merchant strikes and street demonstrations spread to 285 locations across 92 cities nationwide on the tenth day of unrest.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said at least 34 protesters and two members of Iran’s security forces have been killed since the unrest began on Dec. 28.
Four of those killed were under the age of 18. Dozens more protesters have been injured, many by pellet and plastic bullets.
Protests have now been recorded in 27 provinces, with security forces arresting more than 2,000 people, the report said.
The crackdown on protests has extended to hospitals and medical centers treating wounded demonstrators in Ilam and Tehran, according to eyewitness reports and videos obtained by Iran International.
The most significant development on the tenth day of protests was a widespread strike and demonstration by bazaar merchants, particularly in Mashhad's commercial centers and Tehran’s Grand Bazaar.
Large sections of the gold, currency, fabric, footwear and household goods markets were reported fully or partially closed. Security forces increased their presence around major commercial hubs and blocked some gatherings, but the strike disrupted daily economic activity and reduced foot traffic, highlighting the growing overlap between street protests and economic dissent.
HRANA also documented an escalation in force by security units, including the use of pellet guns, tear gas and direct assaults on demonstrators. Rights monitors said official accounts of some deaths conflict with eyewitness testimony and remain under investigation.
Ilam protests
The Kurdish-majority Ilam province in western Iran remained a flashpoint of protests on Tuesday, as funerals in the city of Malekshahi for slain protesters turned into scenes of massive anti-government protests. Huge crowds in the city of Abdanan also poured into the streets with chants against the Supreme Leader.
Seven Iranian Kurdish opposition parties have issued a joint call for a general strike on Thursday, in support of nationwide protests and in condemnation of what they described as the “crimes of the regime in Kermanshah, Ilam and Lorestan.”
The euro was trading around 1.72 million rials and the pound at about 19.94 million rials, traders said.
The latest slide follows sharp swings since late December, when the currency’s plunge helped trigger protests in Tehran and other cities that have increasingly taken on a broader political edge.
The government has floated new relief measures after moving to curb access to subsidized foreign exchange used for importing basic goods, a system critics say has fueled distortions and rent-seeking while failing to contain inflation.
President Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration has signaled it will shift support toward households, including a proposed monthly electronic credit or coupon scheme aimed at cushioning low-income families from price rises as the subsidy regime is rolled back.
Iran’s economy has been hit by years of sanctions and chronic inflation, and many Iranians turn to hard currency and gold as stores of value during bouts of political and economic uncertainty.
They said they strongly condemned the crackdown on demonstrations and the detention of protesters, describing it as a "long-standing policy of the Islamic Republic regime."
The parties called on all political parties and civil organizations to “take a united and collective stance against the crimes of the Islamic Republic regime and join this call.”
Exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi also issued his first call for protests in a video message on Tuesday, calling on Iranian protesters to chant slogans at 8 pm (local time) on Thursday and Friday.
Hospital intrusions
In a major point of concern, security forces were reported to have entered at least two hospitals. In Ilam, witnesses said tear gas was fired inside Imam Khomeini Hospital as forces attempted to arrest wounded protesters transferred from Malekshahi.
In Tehran, reports said security personnel entered Sina Hospital and detained injured demonstrators, creating fear among patients and families.
Iran’s government said it had ordered an investigation into unrest in Ilam after rights groups condemned reports that security forces raided a hospital where injured protesters were being treated.
The public relations office of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, which oversees Sina Hospital, also said tear gas was not deliberately fired inside the hospital during Tuesday’s protests, according to a statement carried by Revolutionary Guards-affiliated Tasnim.
