Four young people have been shot by Iran’s security forces in Khuzestan Province as they protested against water shortages in the area, following demonstrations which erupted in several cities throughout the province.
Social media users reported that at least six young men had been killed so far, with four of those deaths now confirmed by independent sources.
One video posted on Twitter showed hundreds of protesters chanting against Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, while another video showed demonstrators shouting supportive chants for Reza Shah Pahlavi.
The Iranian government ordered a week-long lockdown for Tehran, as a fifth covid wave hit the capital city and a nearby province.
Iranian officials have been accused by social media users of failing to manage the Covid crisis in the country, criticizing the slow roll-out of its vaccination drive.
Currently, only 2.3 million people in Iran have been vaccinated against the virus, from a population of 83 million.
And Iranian journalists in the UK and the US said they were left feeling fearful following the attempted kidnapping of women’s rights campaigner Masih Alinejad.
Four Iranian nationals, alleged to be spies for Iran’s government, were charged with the attempted kidnap of Ms Alinejad by a US court, and have been implicated in at least four other kidnapping plots involving individuals based in the UK and Canada.
Iranian journalists have reported receiving death threats and being threatened with arrest by Iran’s security forces for their work.
