Iran security forces member killed as protests turn deadly

As nationwide protests entered their seventh day, a member of an Iranian paramilitary force was killed during a demonstration in western Iran, the Mehr news agency reported on Saturday, as economic unrest broadened to include political demands.
“Ali Azizi, a member of the Basij, was martyred after being stabbed and shot in the city of Harsin during a gathering of armed rioters,” Mehr said, citing a statement from the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the military that oversees the Basij.

Clashes broke out on Thursday between Iranians and security forces in several cities nationwide, with seven people reportedly killed.

The protests began on Sunday (December 28) and escalated on Thursday (January 1), when shopkeepers and traders took to the streets to oppose the government’s handling of a sharp fall in the Iranian rial and rapidly rising prices.

More from World

Iran unrest widens with sporadic protests in Tehran Tear gas drifts towards hospital amid Iran protests over rising cost of living

Since then, the demonstrations have spread to other cities and social groups. Women’s rights activists, shopkeepers, and students have been heard chanting “death to the dictator” and “woman, life, freedom”.

Iran appoints new central bank Governor

Iran has appointed a new central bank governor amid mass protests over the country’s struggling economy, triggered by a record fall in the rial against the US dollar.

President Masoud Pezeshkian’s cabinet named Abdolnasser Hemmati as Governor of the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the official IRNA reported. He replaces Mohammad Reza Farzin, who resigned earlier this week following one of the largest protest waves since the 2022 demonstrations over the death of Mahsa Amini.