DUBAI, Dec 31 (Reuters) – Iranian protesters tried to break into a local government building in the southern Fars Province on Wednesday, state media said, on a fourth day of demonstrations over the cost of living that have prompted an unusual government offer of dialogue.
Protests over high inflation and a slump in the value of the local rial currency began among shopkeepers in Tehran on Sunday and by Tuesday had spread to several universities in Tehran, with the reported break-in attempt on Wednesday.
“A few hours ago an organised group tried to get into the governorate building in the city of Fasa, their attack failed with the intervention of security forces,” state media said. “The leader of these rioters, a 28-year-old woman, was arrested”.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency cited a local official as saying four “attackers” were detained and three members of the security forces had been wounded during the incident.
A video carried by state media showed a group of people trying to break open the gate of the building. Reuters verified the location of the footage but was not able to independently verify the timing.
The governor of Fasa told state media that “the protests were caused by inflation and economic conditions. Individuals influenced by hostile channels and media participated in them… the situation is back to normal”.
Iranian authorities have responded to previous protests over issues ranging from prices, drought, women’s rights and political freedoms with forceful security measures and extensive arrests.
This time the government said it would set up a “dialogue mechanism” with leaders of the demonstrations, the first major protests since Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran in June, which prompted widespread expressions of patriotic solidarity. It has not said how the mechanism would work.
Iran’s economy has faced significant challenges for years following the reimposition of U.S. sanctions in 2018, when President Donald Trump withdrew from an international agreement concerning Iran’s nuclear program during his first term.
Iran’s rial currency has lost nearly half its value against the dollar in 2025, with inflation reaching 42.5% in December in a country where unrest has repeatedly flared in recent years.
In September, United Nations sanctions were reinstated, and Reuters reported in October that Iranian authorities held multiple high-level meetings to address economic instability, find ways to bypass sanctions, and handle public discontent.
In 2022, Iran faced protests across the country over price hikes, including for bread, a major staple.
Over the same period and into 2023, the country’s clerical rulers faced the boldest unrest in years triggered by the death of a young Iranian Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of the morality police, who enforce a strict female dress code.
(Reporting by Elwely Elwelly; additional reporting by Eleanor Whalley; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
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