Iran Protests Enter Sixth Day Amid Fatalities, Arrests, Economic Triggers, and Escalating Domestic and International Tensions
Protests in Iran have spread across multiple provinces amid sharp currency volatility, economic pressure, and broader political discontent, while authorities report arrests, and confirm fatalities.
Protests in Iran have entered their sixth consecutive day, spreading across multiple provinces amid sharp currency volatility, economic pressure, and broader political discontent, while authorities report arrests, confirm fatalities, and warn against further unrest. According to compiled reports from local and international sources, at least eight people have been killed nationwide, though official accounts continue to dispute the causes and circumstances of several deaths.
The Lorestan provincial judiciary confirmed the arrest of a number of protesters in the cities of Azna and Delfan, without disclosing figures. Saeed Shahvari, head of the province’s judiciary, said prosecutors had been instructed to pursue “firm and decisive legal action” against those accused of disrupting public order. Iranian authorities asserted that protests in Azna escalated into violence, including an attack on a police facility, during which three people were killed and 17 injured, according to state media. The Fars News Agency claimed armed individuals attempted to seize weapons from the police station, though these accounts have not been independently verified. The Lorestan prosecutor’s office later warned that any participation in or calls for “illegal gatherings” would be met with decisive judicial action, framing public security as a judicial red line.
Funerals of those killed during the protests have become flashpoints for further tension. On January 2, the burial of Amirhossam Khodayarifard in Kuhdasht, Lorestan, took place under a heavy security presence. While state-aligned outlets initially described him as a Basij member, his family publicly rejected this claim. During the ceremony, his father said: “My son was not a Basiji. He did not riot.”
Similar disputes have emerged elsewhere. In Marvdasht, Fars Province, Khudadad Shirvani was killed during protests on January 1. A local member of parliament claimed he was killed by “thugs,” while videos circulating online show armed clashes and gunfire near Police Station 11. In Fooladshahr, Isfahan, Dariush Ansari Bakhtiarvand was killed; police attributed his death to a personal dispute, while reporting by international media indicates he was killed while participating in protests. Additional deaths have been reported in Azna (Lorestan) and Lordegan (Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari).
Videos published on Friday, January 2, show nighttime protests near Enghelab Square and Qarani Boulevard in Yasuj, the capital of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province. In the footage, gunfire can be heard, and security forces are seen using tear gas to disperse protesters. Demonstrators chant slogans including “Death to the dictator” and “This year is the year of blood; Seyed Ali will be overthrown.” The videos have not been independently verified.
In Zahedan, Sunni cleric Molavi Abdolhamid Ismailzehi said the country’s livelihood crisis has reached a dead end and emphasized that peaceful protest is a legitimate right, warning authorities against violent responses. After Friday prayers, worshippers chanted anti-government slogans in solidarity with protests elsewhere.
A full political-economy assessment of the protests requires detailed field research, which is currently unavailable; any analysis therefore remains speculative. One plausible interpretation is that recent currency policy changes acted as the initial trigger, while the protests have since expanded beyond the control of their original economic drivers.
Under the government of Masoud Pezeshkian, the exchange rate for imports of many non-essential goods was shifted from the first trading hall of Iran’s Currency Exchange Center, where the dollar stood at roughly 80,000 tomans, to the second hall, which is based on exporter supply and importer demand. Prices in this second hall have risen steadily, including an increase of around 2,000 tomans in a single day.
This move effectively eliminated a major profit margin for importers who had benefited from cheaper managed exchange rates. As a result, commercial hubs most exposed to the shift—Alaeddin Passage (mobile phones), Shadabad Iron Market, and Lalehzar (electrical goods)—became the starting points of protest. However, while currency policy appears to have sparked the initial demonstrations, the protests did not remain confined to these actors. As they spread, other social groups with broader economic and political grievances joined, and slogans and confrontations moved well beyond the original demands of affected merchants. What began as a sector-specific economic protest appears to have evolved into a broader expression of accumulated public anger, making the unrest less predictable and harder for authorities to contain.
At the same time, the Pezeshkian administration has publicly acknowledged the depth of economic problems inside the country, including public dissatisfaction and disagreement with government policies. Senior officials have stated that citizens have the right to protest peacefully, and, so far, security forces appear not to have escalated immediately to indiscriminate violence across the board to halt all protests. Available evidence suggests that the police have largely attempted to maintain control through crowd dispersal, arrests, and localized interventions in many locations. Still, fatalities, arrests and injuries have risen throughout the protests and could spike in the days to come.
Whether this approach will be sustained remains uncertain, particularly if protests expand significantly in size or coordination. For now, the authorities appear to retain operational control, but the situation remains fluid. Compared with major protest waves in recent decades, including the nationwide uprisings of the past several years, the current unrest has so far remained more limited in scale and intensity, despite its geographic spread and political overtones.
Inside Iran, videos indicate that some protesters have chanted slogans in support of Reza Pahlavi, the former Crown Prince of Iran and son of the last Shah, alongside broader anti-government chants. At the same time, many Iranian activists have criticized Pahlavi, pointing to his public support for Israel’s military attacks on Iran and his close relations with Israeli officials, arguing that endorsing foreign military action undermines domestic protest movements and alienates large segments of society. These disputes reflect deep divisions within the Iranian opposition.
While the current protest wave remains smaller in scale than major protest movements of recent decades, its economic origins, fatalities, disputed narratives, expanding social base, and internationalization underscore a volatile and evolving situation. It remains unclear whether the protests will expand, subside, or develop into a sustained movement, particularly if economic pressures persist and containment strategies are tested.