Overview
- State media said a 21-year-old Bassidj member was killed in Kouhdasht, marking the first officially confirmed fatality, with 13 security personnel reported injured by stone-throwing.
- Local outlets reported additional casualties, including two civilians in Lordegan, bringing the reported death toll to three as clashes were documented in several provinces.
- President Massoud Pezeshkian urged his government to focus on livelihoods, while authorities declared a near-nationwide day off citing cold and energy savings.
- The prosecutor general recognized peaceful economic protests as understandable but warned of a firm legal response to violence, and Tasnim reported seven arrests tied to alleged foreign-linked groups.
- Official data put annual inflation at 52% in December and the rial down sharply, as BBC Persian-authenticated footage showed police firing on protesters in at least one city.