One person killed as demonstrations in Iran over rising wheat prices continue
One person was killed in protests against rising food prices in Iran, a politician told local media.
Posts on social media showed demonstrations in several cities on Saturday.
They were sparked by a cut last week in state subsidies for imported wheat that caused price rises of up to 300 per cent for a variety of flour-based staples.
The government of President Ebrahim Raisi also increased prices of basic goods such as cooking oil and dairy produce.
The northern city of Rasht, the central town of Farsan and the north-eastern city of Neyshabur, were among the areas where protests started, Reuters reported.
Politician Ahmad Avai told the semi-official ILNA news agency that one person was killed during rallies in Dezful, a city in the oil-producing, south-western province of Khuzestan.
State media said a crowd of an estimated 300 people was broken up by security forces in Dezful and 15 were arrested on Thursday.
The internet was reported to have been cut to stop the use of social media.
Iranian media last week reported disruption to internet services, an apparent attempt to stop the use of social media to organise rallies and share videos. Internet blockage reporting site NetBlocks on Saturday said disruption to Iran’s Mobinnet lasted for hours.
“The disruption is the latest in a series of telecoms cuts amid protests,” NetBlocks said on Twitter.
Wheat prices have sharply risen around the world since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February.
Iranian officials also blamed the price rises on the smuggling of subsidised flour into Iraq and Afghanistan.
Reports suggest that disruption to internet services in Iran are part of an effort to silence dissent on social media