‘Death to the dictator!’ Iran hunger protests get violent, deaths reported

The unrest follows Iran’s announcement earlier in the week that the cost of cooking oil, chicken, eggs and milk would rise by as much as 300%.

By Associated Press and World Israel News Staff

An Iranian lawmaker says one person was killed in his city during recent unrest over price increases in the southwestern Khuzestan province, semi-official ILNA news agency reported.

Ahmad Avaei, a member of parliament from Dezful, did not give the name or gender of the person killed or say how many people were arrested during the unrest.

According to Telegram blogger Abu Ali Express, however, at least four civilians were killed in clashes between protesters and Iranian regime forces.

State media reported Friday that Iranian authorities had arrested at least 22 demonstrators who were protesting sudden price hikes of subsidized staple foods, 15 of them in Dezful. A firefighter was injured in clashes with demonstrators in a nearby city, Andimeshk.

The unrest follows Iran’s announcement earlier in the week that the cost of cooking oil, chicken, eggs and milk would rise by as much as 300%, as food prices surge across the Middle East due to global supply chain snarls and Russia’s invasion of major food exporter Ukraine.

State TV on Friday showed footage of demonstrations in the province that had deteriorated into violence, with protesters burning tires and leaving mosques and public property damaged.

Memories of Iran’s fuel price hike in November 2019 also remain fresh. Then, widespread protests — the most violent since the creation of the Islamic Republic in 1979 — rocked the country.

Crowds have been taking to the streets in cities across the country, confronting Iranian police and paramilitary forces, protesting the high cost of living, Abu Ali Express reported.

During riots in the city of Burjar, the crowd chanted, “Death to the dictator!”

The recent uptick in food prices in Iran is a major driving force, he wrote, as many Iranian citizens are finding it hard to purchase basic consumer products, the blogger noted.

Access to the Internet has been blocked in many cities in Iran, he said.