Iranian president seeks to calm tensions, acknowledging protesters’ ‘legitimate’ grievances over inflation.

At least five people have been killed as demonstrations over the soaring cost of living in Iran spread to more parts of the country.

At least three people were killed and 17 others were injured at protests in the city of Azna in Lorestan province, some 300km (185 miles) southwest of Tehran, Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency reported on Thursday.

Videos shared online appeared to show objects in the street ablaze and gunfire echoing as people shouted: “Shameless! Shameless!”

Earlier, Fars said two people were killed during protests in the city of Lordegan, about 470km (290 miles) south of the capital Tehran in the Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province.

“Some protesters began throwing stones at the city’s administrative buildings, including the provincial governor’s office, the mosque, the Martyrs’ Foundation, the town hall and banks,” Fars said, adding that police responded with tear gas.

Online videos showed demonstrators gathered on a street, with the sound of gunfire in the background.

Earlier on Thursday, Iranian state television also reported that a member of security forces was killed overnight during protests in the western city of Kouhdasht.

“A 21-year-old member of the Basij from the city of Kouhdasht was killed last night by rioters while defending public order,” the channel said, quoting Said Pourali, the deputy governor of Lorestan province.

The Basij are a volunteer force linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The reports come days after shopkeepers began protesting on Sunday over the government’s handling of a currency slide and rapidly rising prices.

The unrest comes at a critical moment for Iran as Western sanctions hammer an economy hit by 40 percent inflation, and after air strikes by Israel and the United States in June targeted the country’s nuclear infrastructure and military leadership.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi explained that the government has taken a more cautious approach to this week’s protests than it did to previous demonstrations.

“The government says it’s working hard to find a solution, to deal with the economic hardships that people are feeling,” Asadi said.

Iran last saw mass demonstrations in 2022 and 2023 after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in police custody after being arrested for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code for women.

The latest protests began peacefully in Tehran and spread after students from at least 10 universities joined in on Tuesday.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has sought to calm tensions, acknowledging protesters’ “legitimate demands” and calling on the government to take action to improve the economic situation.

“From an Islamic perspective … if we do not resolve the issue of people’s livelihoods, we will end up in hell,” Pezeshkian said at an event broadcast on state television.

Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said on Thursday the authorities would hold a direct dialogue with representatives of trade unions and merchants, without providing details.

Still, the authorities have promised to take a “firm” stance and warned against exploiting the situation to sow chaos.

“Any attempt to turn economic protests into a tool of insecurity, destruction of public property, or implementation of externally designed scenarios will inevitably be met with a legal, proportionate and decisive response,” Iran’s prosecutor general said on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Tasnim news agency on Wednesday evening reported the arrests of seven people it described as being affiliated with “groups hostile to the Islamic Republic based in the United States and Europe”.

Iran is in the middle of an extended weekend, with the authorities declaring Wednesday a bank holiday at the last minute, citing the need to save energy due to cold weather.