Serial demonstrations, mass movements

Three people were killed and 17 others injured in clashes between protesters and police in Iran's western Lorestan province on Thursday evening, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.The protesters attacked a police station at around 18:00 local time (1430 GMT), leaving three people dead and 17 wounded, the report said.Armed protesters sought to disarm the police forces and enter the station's armory, while throwing stones at police officers and setting police cars on fire, said the report.Several Iranian cities have seen protests daily since Sunday.Saeid Pourali, the province's deputy governor for political, security and social affairs, attributed the recent protests to economic grievances, saying that acts of vandalism and violence were unacceptable and harmed national interests.He stressed that economic pressures, including currency volatility and livelihood concerns, have come from "cruel" Western sanctions.The Iranian rial has weakened sharply since the United States withdrew from Iran's 2015 nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions. The U.S. dollar currently trades at a rate of over 1.35 million rials on the open market.On Thursday, Mansour Saleki, deputy head of Tehran Province's Malard County, said that security and intelligence forces arrested 30 individuals on charges of disrupting public order and security during protests the previous day, according to Fars.Meanwhile, the official news agency IRNA quoted Hamid Hodavand, law enforcement commander of the northern province of Alborz, as saying on Thursday that the provincial police had arrested 14 "trained and organized" individuals who were making explosives and Molotov cocktails in a workshop in the province.Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday that "genuine solidarity alongside constructive criticism" was needed to guide the country through its current challenges and lay the groundwork for lasting reforms, according to IRNA.In a post on X on Monday, Pezeshkian said people's livelihoods were his daily concern and the government had "fundamental measures" planned to reform the monetary and banking systems and protect purchasing power.Pezeshkian said he had instructed Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni to engage in dialogue with protest representatives so that the government can address their demands and resolve problems.