Protests continue in Iran over food price hikes

ANKARA (AA) – Protests continued in Iran on Saturday over hikes in food prices and a shortage of commodities in the country.

Protests were reported in the cities of Borujerd and Dorud in the western Lorestan province, in Gunkan and Farsan in Chaharmahal Bakhtiari province and the city of Dehdasht in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province in southwestern Iran.

Video footages shared on social media showed security forces responding with teargas and opening fire on demonstrators, who chanted slogans against the country's rulers and the government.

Speaking to the Iranian state television, Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the demonstrations were not large-scale.

"Our people did not respond to the calls of the enemies. Only a few dozen people gathered," he said.

According to the official IRNA news agency, 25 people have so far been arrested in a number of cities by security forces for orchestrating the protests.

The Iranian economy has suffered after the US reimposed sanctions on the country after it unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran in 2018.

Official figures put inflation at around 40%.

* Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar