DUBAI: Spreading protests across Iran over a cut in state subsidies on food have turned political with slogans calling for top leaders to step down, according to posts on social media, and unconfirmed reports said at least four protesters were killed.

Protests began in some cities last week sparked by the government’s subsidy cut decision that caused price hikes in Iran by as much as 300pc for a variety of flour-based staples.

The government also raised prices of some basic goods such as cooking oil and dairy products in Iran, where almost half of its 85 million population is under poverty line, according to official figures. Now protesters have expanded their demands, calling for more political freedom, an end to the Islamic Republic and the downfall of its leaders, according to witnesses and social media posts.

Videos posted online showed demonstrators burned images of Iran’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and called for the return of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the toppled Shah of Iran.

Footage on Twitter showed protests in dozens of provinces such as Ardabil, Khuzestan, Lorestan and Razavi Khorasan. Some state-affiliated media, meanwhile, said calm had been restored in the country.

However, protests continued on early on Sunday in at least 40 cities and towns across Iran, including in the town of Quchan near the Turkmen border, the northern city of Rasht and the western city of Hamedan, according to videos posted on social media.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA said on Friday that some shops were “set on fire in some cities”, prompting police to arrest scores of “provocateurs”.

The semi-official ILNA news agency on Saturday, citing a lawmaker, said one protester was killed in Dezful, a city in the oil producing southwestern province of Khuzestan. But videos on Twitter showed at least four demonstrators were killed by security forces.

Residents of the capital, contacted on Sunday, reported a heavy presence of security forces across Tehran.

Global internet monitor NetBlocks on Saturday reported a disruption lasting hours in Iran amid protests, a potential move by the authorities to prevent protesters from communicating with each other and sharing video on social media.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2022