Several people were reportedly killed during unrest in Iran on Thursday, an Iranian news agency and a rights group reported, as the biggest protests to hit the country for three years over soaring inflation sparked violence in several provinces.

The semi-official Fars news agency cited a “source with knowledge” as saying several people were killed in clashes on Thursday morning between police and what it said were armed protesters in Lordegan in western Iran.

The rights group, Hengaw, also reported deaths in Lordegan.

Violence reported in several cities

Thursday’s clashes in Lordegan, along with reported deaths of a security services member overnight and another protester on Wednesday, mark an escalation in the unrest since shopkeepers began protesting on Sunday.

The Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday morning a member of its affiliated Basij volunteer paramilitary unit had been killed in the western city of Kuhdasht, naming him as Amirhossam Khodayari Fard. Thirteen other militiamen were wounded, it added.

Hengaw reported that a protester was also killed on Wednesday in Isfahan province in central Iran.

Reuters could not immediately verify any of those reports.

Tehran has responded to the unrest with an offer of dialogue, an apparently conciliatory gesture alongside its security response.

Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said on Thursday that the authorities would hold a direct dialogue with representatives of trades unions and merchants, but without giving details.

Merchants, shop owners and students in a number of Iranian universities have been demonstrating for days and closing major bazaars. The government shut down much of the country on Wednesday by declaring a holiday due to cold weather.

However, President Masoud Pezeshkian has said he had asked the interior minister to listen to “legitimate demands” of the demonstrators.

Iran’s economy has been struggling for years as a result of US and Western sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear program. Regional tensions led to a 12-day air war with Israel in June, further straining the country’s finances.

The Iranian rial lost around half its value against the dollar in 2025, with inflation reaching 42.5% in December.