 "Protesters march in downtown Tehran, Iran. AP/File")
Security forces fired tear gas during demonstrations in Tehran , which later drifted towards a hospital as they dispersed protesters amid unrest linked to the rising cost of living, Iranian media reported late Tuesday.
According to the ISNA news agency, tear gas was deployed to clear a crowd from an alley next to Sina Hospital in central Tehran. ISNA cited a statement from Tehran University of Medical Sciences, which said the hospital is affiliated with the university.
The statement said tear gas was used in an adjacent alley and not inside the hospital.
Authorities deny deliberate targeting
“The natural reaction of the protesters is to move (the gas) away from the gathering place. As a result, some of this substance unintentionally drifted towards the hospital,” the statement said.
It added that tear gas was deliberately fired into the hospital, which “does not correspond to the facts”.
Security forces in Iran have frequently used tear gas to disperse protests, some of which have turned deadly. At least 27 protesters, including five minors, have been killed, according to the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights.
Iranian authorities have said members of the security forces have also been killed.
A policeman was shot dead in western Iran on Tuesday, the Fars news agency reported, as 10-day-old protests against economic hardship spread and intensified.
“Ehsan Aghajani, a police officer from the western province of Ilam, was martyred hours ago after being directly hit by rioters’ bullet in the Malekshahi region,” it said.
The demonstrations mark Iran’s largest wave of protests since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody sparked nationwide unrest. However, they have not reached the same scale or intensity as the protests that followed Amini’s detention over the wearing of her hijab, which authorities deemed improper.