DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Widening demonstrations sparked by Iran’s ailing economy spread Thursday into the Islamic Republic’s rural provinces, with at least seven people being killed in the first fatalities reported among security forces and protesters, authorities said.

The deaths may mark the start of a heavier-handed response by Iran’s theocracy over the demonstrations, which have slowed in the capital, Tehran, but expanded elsewhere. The fatalities, one on Wednesday and five on Thursday, occurred in three cities predominantly home to Iran’s Lur ethnic group.

The protests have become the biggest in Iran since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody triggered nationwide demonstrations. However, the demonstrations have yet to be countrywide and have not been as intense as those surrounding the death of Amini, who was detained over not wearing her hijab, or headscarf, to the liking of authorities.

The most-intense violence appeared to strike Azna, a city in Iran’s Lorestan province, some 300 kilometers (185 miles) southwest of Tehran. There, online videos purported to show objects in the street ablaze and gunfire echoing as people shouted: “Shameless! Shameless!”

The semiofficial Fars news agency reported three people had been killed. Other media, including pro-reform outlets, cited Fars for the report while state-run media did not fully acknowledge the violence there or elsewhere. It wasn’t clear why there wasn’t more reporting over the unrest, but journalists had faced arrest over their reporting in 2022.

In Lordegan, a city in Iran’s Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, online videos showed demonstrators gathered on a street, with the sound of gunfire in the background. The footage matched known features of Lordegan, some 470 kilometers (290 miles) south of Tehran.

Fars, citing an anonymous official, said two people had been killed during the protests Thursday.

The Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran said two people had been killed there, identifying the dead as demonstrators. It also shared a still image of what appeared to be an Iranian police officer, wearing body armor and wielding a shotgun.

In 2019, the area around Lordegan saw widespread protests and demonstrators reportedly damaged government buildings after a report said people there had been infected with HIV by contaminated needles used at a local health care clinic.

A separate demonstration Wednesday night reportedly led to the death of a 21-year-old volunteer in the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s Basij force.

The state-run IRNA news agency reported on the Guard member’s death but did not elaborate. An Iranian news agency called the Student News Network, which is believed to be close to the Basij, directly blamed demonstrators for the Guard member’s death, citing comments from Saeed Pourali, a deputy governor in Lorestan province.

The Guard member “was martyred … at the hands of rioters during protests in this city in defense of public order,” he reportedly said. Another 13 Basij members and police officers suffered injuries, he added.

“The protests that have occurred are due to economic pressures, inflation and currency fluctuations, and are an expression of livelihood concerns,” Pourali said. “The voices of citizens must be heard carefully and tactfully, but people must not allow their demands to be strained by profit-seeking individuals.”

The protests took place in the city of Kouhdasht, over 400 kilometers (250 miles) southwest of Tehran. Local prosecutor Kazem Nazari said 20 people had been arrested after the protests and that calm had returned to the city, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported.

Iran’s civilian government under reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian has been trying to signal it wants to negotiate with protesters. However, Pezeshkian has acknowledged there is not much he can do as Iran’s rial currency has rapidly depreciated, with $1 now costing some 1.4 million rials.

Meanwhile, state television separately reported on the arrests of seven people, including five it described as monarchists and two others it said had linked to European-based groups. State TV also said another operation saw security forces confiscate 100 smuggled pistols, without elaborating.

Iran’s theocracy had declared Wednesday a public holiday across much of the country, citing cold weather, likely as a bid to get people out of the capital for a long weekend. The Iranian weekend is Thursday and Friday, while Saturday marks Imam Ali’s birthday, another holiday for many.

The protests, taking root in economic issues, have heard demonstrators chant against Iran’s theocracy as well. The country’s leaders are still reeling after Israel launched a 12-day war against the country in June. The U.S. also bombed Iranian nuclear sites during the war.

Iran has said it is no longer enriching uranium at any site in the country, trying to signal to the West that it remains open to potential negotiations over its atomic program to ease sanctions. However, those talks have yet to happen as U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have warned Tehran against reconstituting its atomic program.

LONDON, Dec 6 (Reuters) – Four people were arrested at London’s Tower of London after they threw food at a display case containing the Imperial State Crown, police said on Saturday, leading to a temporary closure of part of the historic building housing the Crown Jewels.

An organization called Take Back Power, which describes itself as a civil resistance group, posted footage of the incident on social media and said two of its members had smothered the display case with apple crumble and custard.

London police said in a statement that four protesters were detained following the reports of criminal damage to the display case shortly before 1000 GMT.

“They have been taken into custody. The Jewel House has been closed to the public while the police investigation continues.” the statement said.

The Imperial State Crown is worn by King Charles on some official occasions, such as the State Opening of Parliament. He also wore it on his return to Buckingham Palace after his coronation in Westminster Abbey in 2023.

More than three million people visit the 1,000-year-old fortress every year, with the famous Crown Jewels – made up of crowns, orbs, sceptres and other regalia – being one of the main draws.

Historic Royal Palaces, which manages the Tower, said its staff responded quickly to the incident. The Jewel House was briefly closed while the police carried out their investigation.

“The Crown Jewels have not been damaged,” it said in a statement.

Take Back Power said its protest was to highlight its demands for the government to tax the super rich.

(Reporting by Michael HoldenEditing by Bernadette Baum)

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli protesters demanding a deal to free hostages in Gaza attempted to shut down the country Sunday in one of the largest and fiercest protests in 22 months of war. Organizers, representing the families of hostages, asserted that hundreds of thousands of people took part.

Frustration is growing in Israel over plans for a new military offensive in some of Gaza’s most populated areas. Many Israelis fear that could further endanger the remaining hostages. Twenty of the 50 who remain are believed to be alive.

“We live between a terrorist organization that holds our children and a government that refuses to release them for political reasons,” said Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod is held in Gaza.

Even some former Israeli army and intelligence chiefs now call for a deal to end the fighting.

Protesters gathered at dozens of places including outside politicians’ homes, military headquarters and on major highways. They blocked lanes and lit bonfires. Some restaurants and theaters closed in solidarity. Police said they arrested 38 people.

One protester carried a photo of an emaciated Palestinian child from Gaza. Such images were once rare at Israeli demonstrations but now appear more often as outrage grows over conditions in the territory after more than 250 malnutrition-related deaths.

An end to the war does not seem near. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is balancing competing pressures including the potential for mutiny within his coalition.

“Those who today call for an end to the war without defeating Hamas are not only hardening Hamas’ position and delaying the release of our hostages, they are also ensuring that the horrors of Oct. 7 will be repeated,” Netanyahu said, referencing the Hamas-led attack in 2023 that killed some 1,200 people and sparked the war.

The last time Israel agreed to a ceasefire that released some hostages earlier this year, far-right members of his cabinet threatened to topple Netanyahu’s government.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called Sunday’s demonstrations “a bad and harmful campaign that plays into Hamas’ hands, buries the hostages in the tunnels and attempts to get Israel to surrender to its enemies and jeopardize its security and future.”

The new offensive would require the call-up of thousands of reservists, another concern for many Israelis.

Hospitals and witnesses in Gaza said Israeli forces killed at least 17 aid-seekers on Sunday, including nine awaiting U.N. aid trucks close to the Morag corridor.

Hamza Asfour said he was just north of the corridor awaiting a convoy when Israeli snipers fired, first to disperse the crowds. He saw two people with gunshot wounds.

“It’s either to take this risk or wait and see my family die of starvation,” he said.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which runs the Israeli-backed and U.S.-supported distribution points that have become the main source of aid since they opened in May, said there was no gunfire “at or near” its sites, which are located in military-controlled areas.

An Israeli strike targeting a group of people in the Bureij camp in central Gaza killed three, according to Al-Awda hospital, which received the casualties.

Israel’s military did not immediately respond to questions.

Israel’s air and ground war has killed more than 61,900 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not specify how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children.

Two children and five adults died of malnutrition-related causes Sunday, according to the ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.

The United Nations has warned that levels of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at their highest since the war began. Most aid has been blocked from entering Gaza since Israel imposed a total blockade in March after ending a ceasefire. Deliveries have since partially resumed, though aid organizations say the flow is far below what is needed.

It is not clear when Israel’s military will begin the new offensive in crowded Gaza City, Muwasi and what Netanyahu has called the “central camps” of Gaza.

The military body that coordinates its humanitarian aid to Gaza, COGAT, this weekend noted plans to forcibly evacuate people from combat zones to southern Gaza “for their protection.” Designated “safe zones,” however, also have been bombed during the war.

War-weary Palestinians insisted they won’t leave, arguing that there is no safe place in Gaza.

“There are no humanitarian zones at all,” said Raghda Abu Dhaher, who said she has been displaced 10 times during the war and now shelters in a school in western Gaza City.

Mohamed Ahmed also insisted that he won’t move south. “Here is bombing and there is bombing,” he said.

Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen’s capital Sunday, escalating strikes on the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who since the war in Gaza began have fired missiles at Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea.

The Houthi-run Al-Masirah Television said the strikes targeted a power plant in the southern district of Sanhan, knocking it out of service. Israel’s military said the strikes were launched in response to missiles and drones aimed at Israel.

While some projectiles have breached its missile defenses — notably during its 12-day war with Iran in June — Israel has intercepted the vast majority of missiles launched from Yemen. Its military later Sunday said it had intercepted another, and the Houthis claimed they had targeted Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport.

Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel and Magdy from Cairo. Sam Mednick contributed from Tel Aviv, Israel.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war