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Iran ground to a near standstill Wednesday as businesses, universities and government offices closed under a government-ordered shutdown amid protests caused by a growing political and economic crisis.
A 21-year-old volunteer member of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was killed Wednesday in a western province, Iranian state media reported, marking the first death among security forces during the protests.
The death was reported in Kouhdasht, a city in Iran’s Lorestan province roughly 250 miles west of Tehran.
Saeed Pourali, a deputy governor in the Lorestan province, said the guard member “was martyred … at the hands of rioters during protests in this city in defense of public order,” according to Iranian Student News Network.
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Video footage circulating online and shared by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK) shows intense clashes between protesters and security forces in cities, including Shiraz, Isfahan, Kermanshah and Tehran.
In the videos, protesters chant anti-regime slogans and confront security forces in crowded streets.
Footage included scenes of screaming and apparent gunfire, with demonstrators throwing objects and shouting, “Death to the Dictator” and “Proud Arakis, support, support.”
Additional footage shared by MEK shows crowds chanting, “Death to Khamenei!” and “Shame on you, shame on you!” as anger appears to spread across the country, with a particular focus on bazaar-led protests in Tehran.
Some of the most dramatic scenes were reported in the city of Fasa in south-central Iran. Video circulating online shows demonstrators hurling objects at the gates of a government complex and shaking them until they opened.
Opposition groups also reported that protesters stormed the governor’s office, prompting Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces to open fire, per Reuters.
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Military helicopters were seen flying over the city, apparently to intimidate residents and prevent the unrest from spreading.
In Kermanshah, in western Iran, bazaar merchants were seen confronting security forces while chanting, “Dishonorable, dishonorable,” according to video footage.
The one-day shutdown affected 21 of Iran’s 31 provinces, including Tehran, as President Masoud Pezeshkian sought to contain mounting public anger fueled by inflation, currency instability and declining living standards.
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Demonstrations, strikes and clashes with security forces continued for a fourth consecutive day in cities across the country.
The unrest has unfolded alongside a series of high-level leadership changes that have added to uncertainty.
On Wednesday, Pezeshkian appointed Abdolnaser Hemmati, a former economy minister, as the new head of Iran’s central bank after the resignation of Mohammad Reza Farzin.
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State media quoted the president as acknowledging the role was “extremely difficult and complex,” warning that the new central bank chief would face intense pressure and criticism amid ongoing economic turmoil, according to IRNA.
Separately, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced the appointment of IRGC Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi as deputy commander in chief of the Revolutionary Guards.
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