Iran Shuts Down as Massive Street Protests Turn Deadly

Unrest roiled Iranian cities on Thursday as clashes between protesters and security forces turned deadly.

Unconfirmed media reports indicated that Iranian authorities fired on protesters in the city of Lordegan. In Kuhdasht, one member of the security forces was killed and another 13 were wounded, according to Reuters.

Economic issues triggered the protests, which began in Tehran on Sunday and have since spread across the country, according to the BBC.

The protests were the largest in Iran since 2022.

On Wednesday, the government closed businesses, universities, and government offices, according to The New York Times.

🚨🇮🇷 IRAN GRINDING TO A HALT: PROTESTERS STORM GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS, REPORTS CLAIM ENTIRE CITIES FALLING TO DEMONSTRATORS

This is escalating fast.

Iran shut down Wednesday as businesses, universities, and government offices closed across 21 of 31 provinces.

Protests are now… pic.twitter.com/Mtuz1VyVjm

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 1, 2026

The shutdown covered 21 of Iran’s 31 provinces, and came after rampant inflation led to the replacement of the leader of Iran’s central bank.

Water shortages and other issues have driven multiple segments of Iran’s society into the streets.

“Death to the dictator,” protesters shouted during one demonstration in Hamedan.

Some government officials sought to blame outsiders for instigating the protests.

“Zionist media outlets and figures” were “aiming to divert the people’s demands and turn the protests into chaos and riots,” one government statement said.

Iran’s prosecutor general, Mohammad Movahedi-Azad, said “peaceful livelihood protests” stem from “social and understandable realities.”

Hover, he threatened that if protests erode security, damage public property, or implement “externally designed scenarios,” protesters would face “a legal, proportionate and decisive response.”

One commentator said the protests reflect long-simmering anger.

“The recent protests were not the result of a sudden incident, but the accumulation of sustained pressure over time — something the authorities clearly anticipated,” Omid Memarian, a senior Iran analyst at Dawn, a Washington-based nonprofit, said.

Protests continued well into the night inside Iran, as seen here in 1. Isfahan 2. smashing down gates of a governmental building in Fars province and 3. the seizure and burning of a Basij headquarters in Asadabad, Hamadan last night. Most significantly however in 4. Baghmalek,… pic.twitter.com/OVCRfLXwbx

— Omid Djalili (@omid9) January 1, 2026

“The government’s decision to impose widespread shutdowns is an attempt to lower social tensions,” he said.

“But with no real solutions to the worsening economic crisis, and no credible path out of it, such measures cannot contain public anger. The frustration runs far deeper than temporary restrictions can address,” he said.

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