Widening demonstrations sparked by Iran’s ailing economy have spread into the Islamic Republic’s rural provinces, with at least three people being killed in the first fatalities reported among security forces and protesters, authorities said.
The deaths may mark the start of a heavier-handed response by Iran’s theocracy over the demonstrations, which have slowed in the capital, Tehran, but expanded elsewhere.
The fatalities, one on Wednesday and two on Thursday, occurred in two cities predominantly home to Iran’s Lur ethnic group.
The protests have become the biggest in Iran since 2022, whe