Iran's Inflation Protest Turns Deadly As Some Call For 'Democracy In, Mullahs Out'

The agitation against high inflation in Iran turned deadly on Thursday as media reports said several people have been killed, including a member of the country's elite security forces.

The semi-official Fars news agency and rights group Hengaw reported deaths in Lordegan, a city in western Iran. Authorities confirmed the death of a 21-year-old member of a paramilitary force linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) in Kouhdasht in the western Lorestan province. Hengaw said one person died in the central province of Isfahan.

Videos shared on social media platforms showed clashes between protesters and security services, a significant escalation in the unrest that has spread since shopkeepers in Tehran began protesting on Sunday over the government's handling of a currency slide and rapidly rising prices.

The country faces some of the world's toughest sanctions regime for its nuclear programme that has stymied its oil-reliant economy. The Iranian rial lost around half its value against the dollar in 2025, with inflation reaching 42.5% in December, as per Reuters.

By Tuesday, university students were involved and the agitation spread to several cities, with people chanting against the country's clerical rulers and calling for a stronger democratic system.

Though Iran has an elected president and a parliament, the ultimate power lies with the Ayatollah and the IRGC loyal to him.

President Masoud Pezeshkian has expressed willingness to initiate dialogue with protestors and listen to their "legitimate demands". On the other hand, IRGC has warned protestors it would confront any "sedition, unrest" or security threats.

A 19-year-old university student active in the protest movement told The Guardian, "If the administration wanted to talk, they wouldn’t fire teargas, shoot at protesters and if dialogue is what they wanted, they would not have executed protesters in 2023. There is no willingness from any of us to talk to them, we want the mullahs gone and we want democracy."

Women’s rights activists, shopkeepers and students have begun chanting “death to the dictator” and “woman, life, freedom” – slogans that could put people in prison, as per The Guardian report.

The protests have been the most widespread since 2022, when the custodial death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who was accused by morality police of not wearing her veil properly, sparked a nationwide agitation.

The unrest also comes months after the 12-day war with Israel and a US bombing campaign targeted at nuclear facilities.