Posts on social media showed protests against rising food prices continued in several cities in Iran on Saturday (14/5). Meanwhile, an Iranian lawmaker told local media that one person was killed during a demonstration in the southwest of the country.
The protests were sparked by cuts in subsidies for imported wheat last week. That causes the price to soar up to 300 percent for a variety of flour-based foods.
President Ebrahim Raisi’s government has also raised prices for basic ingredients such as cooking oil and dairy products.
Videos uploaded to social media show the cities of Rasht, Farsan and Neyshabur including areas that have seen protests.
“Raisi, know yourself, spare the country!” shouted some of the demonstrators in one of the videos. Reuters have not been able to independently verify the authenticity of the video.
Lawmaker Ahmad Avai told the semi-official ILNA news agency that one person was killed during a demonstration in Dezful, an oil-producing city in Khuzestan province.
State media previously estimated 300 people were dispersed by security forces in Dezful and 15 were arrested on Thursday night (12/5). [vm/ft]
