Anti-government protests erupt at funeral of child shot by police

An anti-government protest has erupted in Iran at the funeral of a child killed in a shooting his mother blamed on security forces.

It is the latest in a wave of demonstrations that have flared across the country over the past two months.

Videos circulating on social media showed hundreds of protesters at the funeral for nine-yearold Kian Pirfalak in the south-western city of Izeh.

Protests also erupted in the eastern city of Zahedan, which has seen the deadliest violence since the nationwide demonstrations began.

The protests first erupted after the September 16 death of a 22-year-old woman who was being held by the country’s morality police.

They rapidly escalated into calls for the overthrow of Iran’s ruling clerics and an end to the theocracy established

after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Authorities have heavily restricted media access and periodically shut down the internet as they struggle to contain the biggest challenge to their leadership in more than a decade, making it difficult to confirm details of unrest in different parts of the country.

State-run media in Iran reported that seven people were killed and several wounded, including security forces, in a shooting in Izeh on Wednesday.

Authorities blamed the attack on “terrorists” without providing further details.

Among the victims was Kian Pirfalak.

A protest after Kian Pirfalak was killed in a shooting.