At least 16 people have been killed during a week of unrest across Iran as protests driven by soaring inflation escalated into violent clashes between demonstrators and security forces, according to rights groups. Deaths and hundreds of arrests have been reported by both state media and activists, though figures vary and could not be independently verified. The protests mark the largest wave of unrest in three years, erupting at a time of acute economic distress and rising international pressure on the Islamic Republic.
Kurdish rights group Hengaw said at least 17 people had died since demonstrations began, while the HRANA network of rights activists reported 16 deaths and 582 arrests. Iran’s police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said security forces had focused on detaining protest leaders, including what he described as a large number of organizers active online. State-affiliated media also reported the detention of administrators of social media accounts accused of urging protests.
Clashes have been most intense in western Iran but have also been reported in Tehran, central regions, and the southern province of Baluchistan. Late on Saturday, the governor of Qom, a conservative hub of Iran’s Shi’ite clerical establishment, said two people were killed there, adding that one died when an explosive device he had made detonated prematurely.
The unrest has taken on international overtones after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was prepared to come to the aid of protesters if they faced violence, warning that the United States was “locked and loaded and ready to go” without detailing possible actions. Senior Iranian officials responded with threats of retaliation against U.S. forces in the region, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran “will not yield to the enemy.”
Protests began among bazaar traders and shopkeepers before spreading to university students and provincial cities, with some demonstrators chanting against Iran’s clerical rulers. Inflation has exceeded 36% since March, and the rial has lost around half its value against the dollar, deepening hardship. Reimposed international sanctions over Iran’s nuclear programme, persistent shortages of water and electricity, and forecasts of a recession in 2026 have compounded public anger.
Authorities have sought to balance acknowledgement of the economic crisis with a heavy-handed response to dissent. While Khamenei said officials were prepared to talk to protesters, he warned that “rioters should be put in their place,” underscoring a strategy that combines dialogue with force as the unrest continues.
