Iranian president calls on govt to take action to improve economic situation
\n tehran
\nA member of Iran\u2019s security forces was killed during protests that erupted last week, state television reported on Thursday, citing a regional official.
\n\u201cA 21-year-old member of the Basij from the city of Kouhdasht was killed last night [Wednesday] by rioters while defending public order,\u201d the channel said, citing Said Pourali, the deputy governor of Lorestan Province.
\nThis is the first officially confirmed death since the start of the protests on Sunday, which began peacefully in the capital Tehran.
\nThe Basij are a volunteer paramilitary force linked to Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the Islamic Republic.
\nPourali said that \u201cduring the demonstrations in Kouhdasht, 13 police officers and Basij members were injured by stone throwing\u201d.
\nThe protests began in Tehran, where shopkeepers went on strike over the high cost of living and economic stagnation. They then spread to other cities, after students at least 10 universities joined in on Tuesday.
\nIranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called on the government on Thursday to take action to improve the economic situation.
\n\u201cFrom an Islamic perspective… if we do not resolve the issue of people\u2019s livelihoods, we will end up in hell,\u201d Pezeshkian said at an event broadcast on state television.
\nIran is in the middle of an extended weekend, with the authorities declaring Wednesday a bank holiday at the last minute, citing the need to save energy during the cold weather.
\nThey made no official link to the protests.
\nThe weekend in Iran begins on Thursday, while Saturday marks a long-standing national holiday.
\nIran\u2019s prosecutor general said on Wednesday that peaceful economic protests were legitimate, but any attempt to create insecurity would be met with a \u201cdecisive response\u201d.
\n\u201cAny attempt to turn economic protests into a tool of insecurity, destruction of public property, or implementation of externally designed scenarios will inevitably be met with a legal, proportionate and decisive response.\u201d
\nOn Wednesday evening, the Tasnim news agency reported the arrest of seven people it described as being affiliated with \u201cgroups hostile to the Islamic Republic based in the United States and Europe\u201d.
\nIt said they had been \u201ctasked with turning the demonstrations into violence\u201d. Tasnim did not say when they were arrested.
\nThe national currency, the rial, has lost more than a third of its value against the US dollar over the past year, while double-digit hyperinflation has already been undermining Iranians\u00b4 purchasing power for years.
\nThe inflation rate in December was 52% year-on-year, according to the Statistical Centre of Iran, an official body.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Iranian president calls on govt to take action to improve economic situation tehran A member of Iran\u2019s security forces was killed during protests that erupted last week, state television reported on Thursday, citing a regional official. \u201cA 21-year-old member of the Basij from the city of Kouhdasht was killed last night [Wednesday] by rioters while […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":523321,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-523298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n