Iran Protests Enter 12th Day as Officer Killed, Soleimani Statue Toppled

Protests against Iran’s regime entered their 12th consecutive day overnight, marked by violent clashes with security forces, the killing of a police officer, and a symbolic attack on a statue of former Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.

During the night between Wednesday and Thursday, protesters in Fars Province toppled a statue of Soleimani, smashing it with hammers and setting it on fire, according to reports and footage from inside Iran, in an increasingly confrontational tone of demonstrations that have spread to new provinces.

At the same time, Iranian media reported that a police officer was stabbed to death during clashes with protesters, apparently in one of the protest areas in southwestern Iran. Separately, the official Fars news agency said two additional police officers were killed and 30 wounded in violent confrontations in the city of Lordegan, in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province. Authorities described the incidents as part of continued overnight unrest.

Footage circulating on social media showed heated nighttime protests in several cities, including Mashhad, Shiraz, Bandar Abbas, Kashan and others. Demonstrators were heard chanting slogans such as “Death to the dictator,” “Pahlavi will return,” and “This is the year of blood, Seyyed Ali will fall,” in reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Videos showed security forces using tear gas and, in some locations, live fire to disperse crowds.

The human rights group Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said at least 38 people have been killed since the protests began, including 29 protesters, five minors and four members of the security forces. More than 2,000 people have been arrested nationwide, according to the group. HRANA and other monitors note that casualty figures remain difficult to verify due to restrictions on independent reporting.

Several exceptional incidents were also reported. In the northern city of Ashkhaneh, in North Khorasan Province, protesters set fire to the local governor’s building. In Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city, demonstrators were reported to have burned the flag of the Islamic Republic during overnight protests.

Ilam Province, which has a predominantly Kurdish population, emerged as one of the most violent flashpoints. In the town of Malekshahi, security forces opened live fire on protesters, killing several people and wounding dozens, according to reports. Witnesses said wounded protesters taken to the hospital in Ilam were arrested by security forces, who also fired tear gas inside the hospital compound. Large demonstrations were also reported overnight and into Thursday in the nearby town of Abdanan.

In response, seven Iranian-Kurdish opposition parties operating from Iraq called for a general strike across Iran. An official from one of the parties told AFP that “the goal is to show solidarity with the protests and express opposition to the violent attacks by the regime,” accusing Iranian authorities of committing “serious crimes against protesters.”

President Masoud Pezeshkian recently called on security forces to act with restraint toward peaceful demonstrators, while stressing the need to distinguish between protesters and what he called rioters. Vice President Mohammad Jafar Qaempanah said those carrying firearms or knives and attacking police stations “are not protesters, but criminals.”

The Iranian Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, accused the United States of interfering in Iran’s internal affairs, saying Washington was attempting to incite violence and terrorism through what it described as economic, psychological and media warfare. As of early Thursday, protests were continuing in multiple locations, with security forces remaining on high alert.