6 security members killed, dozens arrested as anti-government protests continue in Iran

ISTANBUL

At least six security members were killed and dozens of protesters were detained as anti-government protests continued to roil Iran, fueled by worsening economic conditions, local media reported on Sunday.

State broadcaster IRIB, citing the country’s prosecutor general Mohammad Movahedi-Azad, said six security members were killed in disturbances in the western province of Kermanshah.

Press TV said Iranian security forces have arrested 200 protest leaders and seized weapons in raids on their houses.

Iran’s police chief Ahmad Reza Radan said coordination between security and law enforcement forces had intensified operations against what he called rioters.

“With proper coordination between security and law enforcement forces, the level of confrontation with rioters has been upgraded,” he said.

He said key elements behind the unrest were arrested last night, saying those detained “will face punishment after completing legal procedures.”

Radan said most of the fatalities in the current wave of protests “died from bladed weapons and knife wounds,” citing forensic findings.

“The shooting distance was very close,” which indicates the acts “were not carried out by security forces but by trained and directed elements,” he said.

Iran has been rocked by waves of protests since last month, starting Dec. 28 at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, over the sharp depreciation of the Iranian rial and worsening economic conditions. Demonstrations later spread to several other cities.

There are no official estimates on casualties, but Iranian medical staff reported hundreds of deaths Saturday.

A Tehran doctor told Time magazine on condition of anonymity that six hospitals in the capital recorded “at least 217 protester deaths, most by live ammunition.”