Protesters angry about water shortages took to the streets of southwest Iran for the sixth night in a row on Tuesday, with mounting violence, while Tehran residents chanted anti-government slogans, according to videos posted on social media and Iranian news outlets.
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Videos uploaded by social media users Wednesday showed security forces using tear gas to disperse protesters. The semi-official Fars news agency said "rioters" shot dead one policeman and injured another in the port city of Mahshahr in the oil-rich Khuzestan province.
In the town of Izeh, demonstrators chanted "Reza Shah, bless your soul" in a video, referring to the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty that was overthrown by the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Activists called for demonstrations to support the Khuzestan protesters and videos surfaced late Tuesday and early Wednesday showing women chanting "Down with the Islamic Republic" at a Tehran metro station.
In the port city of Bandar Ganaveh in Iran's Bushehr Province, videos posted to social media captured locals burning tires and blocking roads in solidarity with demonstrators in Khuzestan.
July 23—Bandar Ganaveh, S #Iran
Locals set tires on fire to block this intersection as they stand in solidarity with their compatriots in Khuzestan protesting severe water shortages.#IranProtests #خوزستان_تنها_نیست pic.twitter.com/UEaPViBJuo— Heshmat Alavi (@HeshmatAlavi) July 22, 2021
At least two young men have been shot dead in the protests. Officials have blamed armed protesters, but activists said on social media they were killed by security forces.
Iran's ethnic Arab minority, who mostly live in Khuzestan, have long said they face discrimination. An Arab woman protester could be heard shouting at security forces in one video: "Sir! Sir! The demonstration is peaceful. Why do you shoot? No one took your land and water."
Iran's worst drought in 50 years has triggered power blackouts.
Iran's economy has been blighted by sanctions imposed by former US President Donald Trump in response to Iranian aggression and the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers, including thousands in the key energy sector, and pensioners have protested for months amid discontent over mismanagement, unemployment, and inflation.
In Washington, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States was closely following the protests, including reports security forces had fired on protesters.
"We support the rights of Iranians to peacefully assemble and to express themselves. Iranians ... should enjoy those rights without fear of violence, without fear of arbitrary detention by security forces," he told reporters.
At least 31 protests took place across Iran on Monday and Tuesday, including rallies by workers and farmers, according to the dissident Human Rights Activists News Agency.
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