Police officer killed as Iran protests continue

An Iranian protester has killed one police officer and wounded three others in the first reported death among the security forces since protests broke out across the country last week. Thousands of Iranians took part in a fifth night of demonstrations, as security forces stepped up violent efforts to suppress them.

AN IRANIAN protester killed one police officer and wounded three others, the Iranian government said yesterday, in the first reported death among the security forces since a wave of protests broke out across the country last week.

Police said a man in the central city of Najafabad opened fire on officers with a hunting rifle as people took to the streets during what has become the largest protests in Iran since 2009.

The killing did not appear to be part of a coordinated attack and it was not clear what happened to the gunman. News of the officer’s death came as thousands of Iranians took part in a fifth night of demonstrations, as security forces stepped up violent efforts to suppress them.

At least 10 people were killed around the country on Sunday night, according to state television, but opposition activists said the real death toll was likely to be higher. Six people were reportedly killed after security forces opened fire in the western town of Tuyserkan and another two were shot dead in Izeh in the south-west.

Two people, one a teenage boy, died after being run over by a fire engine stolen by protesters in the town of Dorud, state media said. Two other people were shot dead on Saturday in the town, which has been a flashpoint for protests.

Iran’s government claimed that armed demonstrators had tried to seize control of police stations and military bases. There was no independent confirmation but videos on social media purported to show men ransacking a Revolutionary Guard office.

In the largely Kurdish city of Kermanshah, a crowd overpowered a pro-government Basic militiaman and stripped him of his trousers, sending him stumbling, humiliated, into the cold night.

The protests began on Thursday as a narrow demonstration over rising food prices, but quickly spiralled into the gravest challenge to Iran’s theocratic government since 2009, when millions took to the streets over election results.

Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president, has tried to strike a balance between acknowledging some of the protesters’ grievances while warning that the government would crack down on unrest.

While Mr Rouhani’s hardline opponents initially appeared encouraged by the discontent with his economic policies, they were caught off guard as the unrest took aim at the core pillars of the Islamic Republic, including Ayatollah Khamenei, the supreme leader.

Donald Trump, the US president, yesterday said, “Iran is failing at every level” and that it was “time for change”.

Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, said: “The UK is watching events in Iran closely. We believe that there should be meaningful debate about the legitimate and important issues the protesters are raising and we look to the Iranian authorities to permit this.”

Opposition activists criticised European governments, and especially Federica Mogherini, the EU foreign policy chief, for not speaking out against Iran’s crackdown on dissent.

Last night, a spokesman for Ms Mogherini said: “We have been following the demonstrations by Iranian citizens. We have been in touch with the Iranian authorities and we expect that the right to peaceful demonstration and freedom of expression will be guaranteed.”

‘The government claimed armed demonstrators had tried to seize control of police stations and military bases’