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Mosque, police station set on fire as Iran protests turn deadly
A mosque and a police station were set on fire in Iran as nationwide protests over economic hardship turned increasingly violent, with state media reporting that more than 100 members of the police and security forces have been killed since the unrest began.
Iran’s state television said on Sunday that 30 police and security personnel were killed in Isfahan province and six others in Kermanshah in the latest clashes. The semi official Tasnim news agency reported that a total of 109 security officers have died across the country during the protests.
State media also said a mosque was set on fire in the northeastern city of Mashhad on Saturday night, while a police station was torched during clashes in Tehran, according to videos circulating on social media. Burning vehicles and debris were seen blocking roads in several cities as protesters confronted security forces.
The Iranian Red Crescent Society said one of its staff members was killed during an attack on a relief building in Gorgan city in northern Iran.
The protests, which began in late December after a sharp fall in the value of Iran’s currency, have spread to many cities as people took to the streets over rising prices, inflation and worsening living conditions under Western sanctions. What started as economic protests has increasingly taken on an antigovernment tone.
Interior Ministry officials said the riots are now gradually subsiding, while the attorney general warned that those involved in violence could face severe punishment.
Speaking in parliament on Sunday, Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned the United States against any military action after US President Donald Trump threatened strikes if Iranian authorities kill protesters.
He said any attack on Iran would make Israel and all US bases and ships in the region legitimate targets.
Trump said on Saturday that the United States is ready to help Iranian protesters and again warned of possible military action.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a televised interview, pledged to overhaul Iran’s struggling economy and said his government is ready to listen to the people’s demands. At the same time, he accused the United States and Israel of trying to create chaos in Iran and called on citizens to stay away from violence.
Human rights groups have urged restraint, saying dozens of protesters have been killed and many more arrested during the crackdown, reports UNB.