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Both the semi-official Fars news agency and the human rights group Hengaw reported that two people were killed in clashes between protesters and security forces in the city of Lordegan in southwestern Iran. According to Fars, three more people were killed in Azna in the west of the country and one in Kouhdasht.

Videos shared on social media on Thursday showed vehicles being set on fire during clashes between protesters and security forces.

Many protesters are calling for an end to the rule of the country’s religious leader, while some are demanding a return to monarchy.

As the day progressed, on the fifth day of protests sparked by the depreciation of the currency, more reports of unrest emerged across the country.

The Fars news agency, citing an official source, reported that two people were killed in Lordegan, without specifying whether they were protesters or members of the security forces.

The human rights group Hengaw said that the two people killed in Lordegan were protesters and identified them as Ahmed Jalil and Sajjad Valamanesh.

State media also reported that on Wednesday night, during clashes with protesters in the city of Kouhdasht in the western province of Lorestan, a member of the security forces affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was killed.

Following the declaration of an official holiday aimed at suppressing unrest, schools, universities and public institutions were closed nationwide on Wednesday.

The protests began in Tehran among shopkeepers angered by another sharp fall in the value of Iran’s currency against the U.S. dollar on the open market.

By Tuesday, university students had also joined the protests, which spread to many cities, with people chanting slogans against the country’s religious rulers.

These are the most widespread protests since the uprising sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022 — a young woman detained by the morality police for allegedly not wearing her headscarf properly. However, they are not on the same scale.

To prevent any escalation, it was reported that strict security measures were put in place in areas of Tehran where the demonstrations began.

President Masoud Pezeshkian said his government would listen to the protesters’ “legitimate demands.”

However, Prosecutor General Mohammad Movahedi-Azad also warned that attempts to create instability would be met with a “decisive response.”