VIDEO Massive protests throughout Iran / Bloody clashes, including in Tehran / Two hospitals stormed by security forces / President Pezeshkian's appeal

Street protests continue and are gaining momentum in Iran, where sometimes deadly clashes are taking place in various cities, despite calls for calm by President Massoud Pezeshkian, who on Wednesday asked security forces not to attack demonstrators, writes AFP.

Thus, Iran's president ordered the security forces not to repress these protests based on economic demands, distinguishing between peaceful demonstrators and armed “revolutionaries”.

Wednesday marks the 11th day of a wave of protests in Iranian cities against economic hardship caused by rising prices and a collapsing currency.

Two dead and 30 injured, in the southwest of the country

A demonstration by traders in Lordegan, a city located 455 kilometers from Tehran in the southwest of the country, degenerated into armed clashes with law enforcement on Wednesday, resulting in two deaths and 30 injuries, according to the Fars news agency.

“The revolutionaries started throwing stones at the law enforcement,” and some of those who had weapons “opened fire on the police,” Fars added, without specifying whether the victims were police or demonstrators. Official buildings in the province were damaged, according to the same source.

Mosque attacked in the northeast

Iran's Tasnim news agency reports that “revolutionaries” “threw stones and broke the windows of the Imam Khomeini mosque” on Wednesday after leaving a trade union meeting in Bojnourd (in the country's northeast).

“A number of revolutionaries and agitators” then attacked a bookstore selling copies of the Koran and prayer books, Tasnim added, adding that the store was set on fire and “all the books were burned.”

Appeals for calm on the one hand, threats on the other

President Massoud Pezeshkian, who has made fairly moderate statements since the protests began but does not hold real power in the hands of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, ordered law enforcement on Wednesday not to attack protesters, the Mehr news agency reported.

However, “those who carry firearms, knives and machetes and who attack police stations and military objectives are revolutionaries, and demonstrators must be distinguished from rioters”, he stated in the Council of Ministers.

In parallel, the head of the Iranian army, Amir Hatani, raised the tone after the threats of the US President Donald Trump regarding a military intervention in Iran if demonstrators are killed and after the “support” shown to the protesters by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Iran views these statements as a “threat”, Amir Hatani said. “If the enemy makes a mistake, we will retaliate more firmly” than during June's 12-day war against Israel and the United States, Iran's army chief threatened.

Clashes in Tehran

For the first time since the protests began, clashes broke out in broad daylight on Tuesday in the heart of Tehran, where sporadic gatherings had previously taken place without major incident, mainly in the evening, according to local media.

Protesters chanted “Pahlavi will return”, referring to the dynasty overthrown by the 1979 Islamic revolution, but also, among other things, “Seyyed Ali will be overthrown”, the name of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to images whose authenticity was verified by AFP.

“Freedom! Freedom!” and “No fear!” dozens of people also chanted, according to videos released by Norway-based Iran Human Rights and the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Footage showed law enforcement using tear gas and pungent smoke filling Tehran's Grand Bazaar, sending protesters fleeing.

Some parts of the bazaar, including the gold market, were closed after noon in “protest against rising foreign exchange rates and price volatility.”

A hospital in the city was mistakenly targeted with tear gas used by security forces to disperse protesters, according to an announcement made by Tehran University of Medical Sciences, quoted by ISNA news agency.

On Wednesday, the situation appeared to be returning to normal in other parts of the Iranian capital, with residents doing their usual shopping in shops, AFP observed along the vast Vali-Asr Street, which runs through the city from north to south.

Separately, Iranian authorities executed a man convicted of spying for Israel on Wednesday, state media reported.

“The death sentence against Ali Ardestani for spying for the Mossad, Israel's intelligence and security service, was carried out this morning (Wednesday),” Mizan, the country's official judicial news agency, reported, without specifying the date of his arrest or trial.

Iranian news agencies have reported in recent days the arrests of people presented as belonging to the Mossad.

The judiciary, however, made no connection between this execution and the ongoing protests. Iran, which does not recognize Israel, has long accused the state of carrying out sabotage operations against its nuclear facilities and assassinating its scientists.

The Mossad called on the protesters, in Persian, via the X social network, to step up their mobilization, claiming it was with them “on the ground”.

The west of the country, the most affected by the protests

Rallies were held in at least fifty cities, mostly small and medium-sized, mostly in the west of the country, according to an AFP tally based on official announcements and media reports. Officially, 24 out of 31 provinces have been affected since the beginning of the protest movement.

A few hundred kilometers from Tehran, deadly clashes have been reported in recent days, particularly in Malekshahi, a land of about 20,000 people with a large Kurdish population.

At least 27 dead, numerous arrests

Since the beginning of the movement, at least 27 protesters “have been killed by shootings or other forms of violence by security forces in eight provinces,” Iran Human Rights (IHR) wrote on Tuesday.

According to the Norway-based NGO, more than 1,000 people have been arrested.

Iranian media, which only carry official announcements, say 15 have been killed, including members of the security forces, since the protests began.

Australia is asking its citizens to leave the country

The Australian government on Wednesday asked its citizens to leave Iran “as soon as possible”.

“Violent protests continue across the country and are likely to intensify … the security situation is unstable,” it says in a new version of its travel advice.

Parliament announces it will investigate security forces' raids on hospitals

Iran's parliament has announced it will review information and footage showing security forces entering hospitals in Ilam and Tehran, as protests continue to spread and intensify across the country, Iran Wire also writes.

Mohammad Rasoul Sheikhizadeh, a member of the parliament's Health Committee, said lawmakers will formally look into reports of security personnel entering Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ilam and the use of tear gas inside Tehran's Sina Hospital.

In a statement to the state-affiliated Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA), he said such actions were unacceptable and violated fundamental medical principles, including the duty to protect and treat the sick and wounded.

He said the Health Commission would summon Iran's security and law enforcement chiefs to explain their actions and added that the judiciary should also step in to ensure accountability. Sheikhizadeh stressed that access to emergency medical care is a fundamental right under both Iranian law and international standards.

What happened inside the hospitals

Eyewitnesses and human rights organizations say security forces – including units of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and special forces – surrounded Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ilam on Sunday evening, following clashes between protesters and security forces in the neighboring town of Malekshahi.

According to this information:

• Security personnel used tear gas inside the hospital premises and fired firearms to force entry.
• Glass doors were broken, medical staff were beaten, and some injured protesters – along with their relatives – were detained while receiving medical attention.

Doctors and hospital staff told human rights organizations that security forces repeatedly stormed hospital wards in an attempt to arrest injured protesters. Authorities are also accused of trying to prevent families from organizing funerals by confiscating the bodies of protest victims before burial rites.

Domestic and international reactions

In Iran, the parliamentary inquiry signals growing concern among some lawmakers about the state's heavy-handed response. Abroad, major human rights organizations and foreign governments have strongly condemned attacks on medical facilities.

Amnesty International said the attack on the Imam Khomeini hospital constituted a “violation of international law”, condemning the use of force against patients and medical staff.

The US State Department also condemned the raid, sharing images of the attack on the hospital online and calling it “a clear crime against humanity”. He emphasized that “hospitals are not battlefields” and stated that such actions violate basic human rights.

Why Parliament's reaction matters

The deployment of the armed forces to the hospitals marks a serious and alarming escalation in the state's response to the protests. Under international law, hospitals and medical staff must be protected spaces, even during social unrest. Violating this rule not only violates legal norms, but also risks further fueling public anger and prolonging the crisis.

With parliament's intervention and global attention intensifying, pressure is mounting on the authorities in Tehran, both domestically and internationally, to explain the behavior of security forces and respect basic human rights.