Death toll rises to 12 in Iran as protestors target military bases

At least 12 people have been killed in the ongoing protests in Iran as armed protesters tried to take over police stations and military bases.

The protests started on Thursday in Mashhad over economic issues and have since expanded to several cities. Some protesters have been chanting against the government and the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Hundreds of people have been arrested.

A state TV report said 10 were killed during clashes on Sunday night. Two demonstrators were killed during a protest in western Iran late Saturday.

“Some armed protesters tried to take over some police stations and military bases, but faced serious resistance from security forces,” the report said.

State TV aired images of burning buildings as well as an ambulance crew trying to aid a wounded person amid a crowd of shouting people.

A fire truck that appeared to have been attacked and burned was shown.

Six people were killed in the western town of Tuyserkan, 185 miles south-west of Tehran. Three others were killed in the town of Shahinshahr, 195 miles south of the Iran capital. There was no details last night about where the 10th person had died.

Earlier yesterday, the semiofficial ILNA news agency quoted Hedayatollah Khademi, a representative for the town of Izeh, as saying two people had died there on Sunday night. It was not clear if they were included in the state TV toll.

He said the cause of death was not immediately known. Many in Izeh, some 280 miles south-west of Tehran, have hunting rifles in their homes.

The Iranian Government on Sunday blocked access to Instagram and the popular messaging app Telegram used by activists to organise their activities. President Hassan Rouhani acknowledged the public’s anger over the Islamic Republic’s flagging economy, though he and others warned the government wouldn’t hesitate to crack down on those it considered lawbreakers.

That sentiment was echoed by Iranian judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, who urged authorities to strongly confront rioters.

US President Donald Trump, who has been tweeting in support of protesters in Iran, continued into the New Year, describing the country as “failing at every level despite the terrible deal made with them by the obama administration ”.

“The great Iranian people have been repressed for many years,” he wrote. “They are hungry for food & for freedom. Along with human rights, the wealth of Iran is being looted. TIME FOR CHANGE!”