Clashes between protestors and security forces killed two people in southwest Iran on Thursday, state media said, first civilians to die after days of protests over economic hardships.
"Some protesters began throwing stones at the city's administrative buildings, including the provincial governor's office, the mosque, the Martyrs' Foundation, the town hall and banks," in the city of Lordegan, Fars news agency said, adding that police used tear gas and that an unspecified number of people had been injured.
One of the people killed was a member of the paramilitary Basij militia which is regularly deployed to suppress unrest - naming him as 21-year-old Amirhossam Khodayari Fard - though Reuters was unable to verify the report.
The incident in Kuhdasht in Iran's western Lorestan province marks an escalation in the unrest that has spread across the country since shopkeepers began protests on Sunday over inflation and the falling currency.
Protests took place on Thursday in Marvdasht in the southern Fars province, the activist news site HRANA reported, and rights group Hengaw said demonstrators had been detained on Wednesday in the western provinces of Kermanshah, Khuzestan and Hamedan.
It all comes at a critical moment for Iran's clerical rulers as Western sanctions hammer an economy hit by 40% inflation and after Israeli and U.S. airstrikes in June targeted the country's nuclear infrastructure and military leadership.
Tehran has responded to the unrest with an offer of dialogue, a more conciliatory approach than it has taken during most previous bouts of unrest, though activists have also reported police flooding the streets.
Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said on Thursday that the authorities would hold a direct dialogue with representatives of trades unions and merchants, but without giving details.
The activist HRANA news agency said late on Wednesday there was a heavy presence of security forces in cities, with arrests, shootings and clashes in some areas. State media said students were detained then released during the demonstrations.
The Basij is a volunteer paramilitary force fiercely loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which said in a statement that 13 of the militia members had been injured.
Many Iranian social media users disputed the authorities' account of the incident and a video widely shared online that Reuters could not immediately verify appeared to show protesters trying to get an injured person into an ambulance.
The Revolutionary Guards statement accused those involved in the unrest in Kuhdasht of "taking advantage of the atmosphere of popular protests".
Merchants, shop owners and students in different Iranian universities have been demonstrating for days and closing major bazaars. The government shut down much of the country on Wednesday by declaring a holiday due to cold weather.
Authorities have in recent years quashed protests over issues ranging from high prices, droughts, women's rights and political freedoms, often with tough security measures and extensive arrests.
However, in an unusual response to the latest protests, President Masoud Pezeshkian said he had asked the interior minister to listen to "legitimate demands" of the demonstrators.
Iran's economy has been struggling for years as a result of U.S. and Western sanctions over Tehran's nuclear program. Regional tensions led to a 12-day air war with Israel in June, further straining the country's finances.
The Iranian rial has lost around half its value against the dollar in 2025, with inflation reaching 42.5% in December in a country where unrest has repeatedly flared in recent years.
