Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has appealed for calm but also warned that violence won’t be tolerated. Protests began last week over rising prices but quickly morphed into anti-government demonstrations.
Iranian officials were expected to hold an emergency meeting Monday to discuss a burgeoning security crisis after 10 people were killed overnight as nationwide demonstrations continued.
The overall death toll is currently 12, and hundreds more have been arrested.
Of those who died, six people were killed in the small western town of Tuyserkan and at least two more people were shot dead in the southwestern town of Izeh, according to local TV reports.
“In this incident (in Tuyserkan), there were shots fired in which three people died and three other people were killed in subsequent events,” a news presenter on state television said without elaborating.
While showing video footage of the damage caused by the protests, the state TV also reported, “In the events of last night, unfortunately, a total of about 10 people were killed in several cities.” It gave no further details of the deaths.