Protests erupting across Iran

TEHRAN, Iran — Across Iran’s heartland, protesters have taken to the streets with increasing intensity in recent months, much to the satisfaction of the Trump administration, which is hoping the unrest will put pressure on Iranian leaders.

Some demonstrations — about the weak economy, strict Islamic rules, water shortages, religious disputes, local grievances — have turned deadly. The protesters have shouted harsh slogans against clerical leaders and their policies. The events are shared on social media and on the dozens of Persian-language satellite channels beaming into the Islamic republic.

Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency reported Saturday that a man taking part in a protest in the northern province of Alborz was fatally shot. The report said a protest was taking place a day earlier in Karaj when someone fired from a car. There were no additional details.

Also on Friday, about 500 protesters attacked a seminary in Karaj and broke windows with stones and bricks.

On Thursday, protests were held in the cities of Arak, Isfahan, Karaj and Shiraz, as people took to the streets, chanting slogans such as “death to high prices,” but also criticizing top officials. A smaller protest was held in Tehran, where some people were arrested, according to videos taken at the scene.

Truck drivers who went on strike in May for higher wages restarted their strike recently. The strike has affected fuel deliveries, leaving some gasoline stations empty in parts of the country.

President Hassan Rouhani, who supported the nuclear agreement that President Donald withdrew from, is under fire from hard-liners and from Iranians who voted for him, the vast middle class. Both groups say his economic policies have failed.

Activists critical of the government concede that the demonstrations do not threaten Iran’s leadership.

“There is no vision, no leadership, and the protests will not lead to any chain reaction across the country, at this point,” said political activist Bahman Amoei. “I have to admit that the state, its security and propaganda machine, is capable of engineering public opinion very successfully and persuade the wider populace that the status quo is in their favor and change will be too costly,” he said.