Iran anti-government protests spread to majority of provinces, videos show

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Iran anti-government protests spread to majority of provinces, videos show
3hrs ago

Protests have broken out in at least 17 of Iran's 31 provinces, presenting the largest challenge to the country's clerical establishment since 2022, a BBC Verify and BBC Persian analysis has found.

The BBC's analysis of protests includes only those for which we have verified video footage - the true number is almost certainly far higher. There are reports of protests in a further 11 provinces.

The wave of protests has spread rapidly across Iran since 28 December, when anger initially broke out in the capital Tehran following a fresh and sharp devaluation of the country's currency against the dollar and other major foreign currencies.

Verified footage from the last 10 days shows evidence of anti-government demonstrations and gatherings in more than 50 towns and cities across the country, including in several regions previously perceived as being highly loyal to the state.

More than 100 videos which we geolocated and checked for publication date paint a picture of the scale of the unrest, with people taking to the streets in many major cities in Iran and presenting the largest challenge to the state since the Women, Life and Freedom protests in 2022.

Footage has also shown protests in Qom in central Iran and Mashhad in the north-east, both of which have traditionally hosted populations extremely loyal to the Islamic Republic.

Prof Sina Azodi, Director of Middle East Studies Program at George Washington University, said that unrest in those cities was "very telling" and amounted to evidence that the government's "base of support is also suffering under the economic hardship".

A BBC graphic showing locations of verified protests in Iran.
Authorities have traditionally used violence to crush unrest. During the 2022 protests - sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who had been detained in Tehran for wearing "improper hijab" - more than 550 people were allegedly killed by security forces, according to human rights groups.
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One of the most violent crackdowns happened in Malekshahi, a small town in the western province of Ilam, on Saturday. Verified footage showed a small demonstration taking place at Commandery Boulevard, where the officers of several state institutions are located, before gunfire appeared to break out. Human rights groups said four people were killed in the incident, with the semi-official Mehr and Tasnim news agencies putting the figure at three dead.

Later footage showed a number of people being transported to hospital. It was unclear from the footage what condition those seen in the footage were in.

Multiple verified videos filmed in the nearby Ilam city show security forces firing shots towards Imam Khomeini Hospital in the centre of the city later on Saturday. Iran's president has ordered an investigation into the incident.
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Another dramatic clip showed a security officer on a motorbike set ablaze by a demonstrator wielding an improvised flamethrower after security forces violently detained and beat up a protester. It is unclear what happened to the officer, as the footage cut off, while other officers gave chase to the demonstrator who fled on foot.

And in the western city of Azna, demonstrators appeared to start a fire outside a police station after security forces opened fire on protesters earlier. BBC Persian has identified at least three demonstrators killed in Azna by verifying footage of funerals and speaking to family members.
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Despite the extent of the demonstrations, most of the experts who spoke to the BBC said they do not yet amount to an existential threat to the state.

"Security forces are loyal - there are no defections at this point and law enforcement forces are carrying out the orders," Azodi said.

"Furthermore, while the protests are widespread we are not seeing a clear strategy [or] attempt by the protesters to bring down the Islamic Republic."

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