Basij member killed during protests in western Iran
A member of the “Basij” forces, affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, was killed overnight Wednesday to Thursday in western Iran, according to state television.
The incident came four days after demonstrations in several Iranian cities protesting rising living costs and economic conditions, according to AFP.
Quoting the deputy governor of Lorestan Province, Saeed Pour, state television reported that “a 21-year-old Basij member in the city of Kuhdasht was killed tonight by rioters while defending public order.”
This is the first death officially reported since the protests began on Sunday in Tehran, before spreading to other cities and drawing in university students, AFP said.
On Wednesday, a government building in southern Iran was attacked during protests, as authorities pledged firmness against any attempt to “undermine security.”
Iranian authorities stated that the governor’s office in the city of Fasa had come under attack.
The judicial website “Mizan” quoted the city’s chief judicial official, Hamed Oustovar, as saying that “the main gate of the governor’s office was damaged in an attack carried out by several individuals,” without specifying the circumstances or directly
linking it to the protests, according to AFP.
Fasa lies about 780 kilometers south of Tehran, where a spontaneous protest movement over rising prices began Sunday among shop owners before spreading to some universities.
Iran’s Prosecutor General, Mohammad Mohaddesi Azad, earlier told state television that “from a judicial standpoint, peaceful demonstrations in defense of livelihoods can be understood.”
However, he stressed that “any attempt to turn these economic protests into a tool to destabilize security, destroy public property, or implement externally prepared scenarios will certainly face a proportionate and firm legal response.”
