Iran Revolutionary Guard volunteer killed during widening protests

Dubai: A volunteer of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was killed in a western province during widening demonstrations sparked by the country’s ailing economy, authorities said on Thursday, marking first fatality among security forces during protests.

The death Wednesday night of the 21-year-old volunteer in the Guard’s Basij force may mark the start of a heavier-handed response by Iran’s theocracy over the demonstrations, which have slowed in the capital, Tehran, but expanded to other provinces. The state-run IRNA news agency reported on the Guard member’s death but did not elaborate. An Iranian news agency called the Student News Network, believed to be close to the Basij, directly blamed demonstrators for the Guard member’s death, citing comments from Saeed Pourali, a deputy governor in Iran’s Lorestan province. The Guard member “was martyred ... at the hands of rioters during protests in this city in defence of public order,” he reportedly said. Another 13 Basij members and police officers suffered injuries, he added.

“The protests that have occurred are due to economic pressures, inflation and currency fluctuations, and are an expression of livelihood concerns,” Pourali said. “The voices of citizens must be heard carefully and tactfully, but people must not allow their demands to be strained by profit-seeking individuals.” The protests took place in the city of Kouhdasht, over 400 kilometres southwest of Tehran. Iran’s civilian government under reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian has been trying to signal it wants to negotiate with protesters. However, Pezeshkian has acknowledged that there is not much he can do as Iran’s rial currency has rapidly depreciated, with $1 now costing some 1.4 million rials. Agencies