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The largest protests in Iran in three years reached a deadly climax overnight into Thursday, with several people killed, Iranian media and a rights group have reported.
The bloody violence marks a significant escalation of the protests over Iran's ailing economy, after authorities on Tuesday unusually offered to set up a "dialogue mechanism".
A "source with knowledge" cited by the semi-official Fars news agency said clashes in the western city of Lordegan between police and what it said were armed protesters had killed multiple people.
Violence and tensions flare in Iran
According to the rights group Hengaw, security forces opened fire on the protesters in Lordegan, killing and wounding several in the crowd.
Meanwhile, authorities confirmed one death in the western city of Kuhdasht, and Hengaw said another had been shot dead in the central province of Isfahan.
The unrest over soaring inflation and a record slump in the currency began on Sunday among shopkeepers and traders in the capital Tehran.
But they have since spread to different groups and parts of the country, with university students in Tehran joining in, and demonstrators attempting to break into a government building on Wednesday.
Some protesters were detained yesterday in the western provinces of Kermanshah, Khuzestan and Hamedan, according to Hengaw.
The Revolutionary Guards - a military force that reports directly to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei - said a member of its Basij volunteer paramilitary unit had been killed in Kuhdasht, and 13 others wounded.
This week's demonstrations are the first since the country was pounded by airstrikes in the summer, which prompted a momentary wave of patriotism and solidarity.
But this week frustrations boiled over, as the economy suffers from Western sanctions, 40% inflation and the fallout from Israeli and US attacks on the country's nuclear infrastructure and military leadership.
It is a dangerous and testing moment for Iran's authorities, with limited options at their disposal to alleviate the problems.
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They are often heavy-handed in their response to protests.
But this week they appeared to offer an unusually conciliatory gesture to open a dialogue with protesters, alongside their security response, which could yet escalate.
On Thursday government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani โreiterated that officials would speak directly to representatives of trades unions and vendors, though details remain unclear.
The activist news site HRANA reported a heavy presence of security forces across cities on Wednesday, with arrests, shootings and clashes in some areas.
State media said students had been detained and then released during the demonstrations.
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