ISTANBUL

A senior police officer was killed in clashes with armed protesters in western Iran on Tuesday, according to local media reports.

The semi-official Fars news agency said the officer was wounded by a direct gunshot during protests in the city of Malekshahi, in Iran's western Ilam province, and later succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital.

The officer was reportedly shot in the afternoon following a funeral ceremony for two individuals killed in Malekshahi County on Saturday.

Local media reported that after the ceremony ended, an angry mob took to the streets, chanting anti-government slogans, with many carrying weapons. Three other police officers were also injured.

Ilam city has been rocked by massive unrest since Saturday, when hundreds of protesters and security forces engaged in fierce street clashes in Malekshahi, resulting in multiple casualties.

Following the transfer of the injured to a local hospital, further clashes were reported inside the hospital premises, causing serious disruption to routine medical services, according to media reports.

The confrontations later spilled out of the hospital and into nearby streets, continuing through Tuesday.

President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered a comprehensive investigation into the unrest in Ilam. A delegation from the Interior Ministry subsequently traveled to the province.

Health Minister Mohammadreza Zafarghandi also ordered a separate investigation into the incidents at Ilam hospital.

The anti-government protests first broke out late last month in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, the heart of the capital’s business activity, and have since spread to several other cities across the country.

Western cities such as Ilam have been among the hardest hit, with protesters attacking public infrastructure and police stations and engaging in pitched street battles with security forces.

At the heart of the unrest is the sharp depreciation of the Iranian rial, which has fallen to a historic low of 1,390,000 rials per US dollar. The currency crisis has fueled record inflation and steep increases in the prices of essential goods and housing.

According to the Tasnim news agency, at least 568 police officers and 66 members of the volunteer Basij security forces have been injured in these clashes since last week.

While protests have largely subsided in Tehran in recent days, scattered gatherings were reported on Tuesday at the Grand Bazaar and other central markets.

At Globandak crossroads, protesters reportedly gathered in large numbers and chanted slogans, prompting intervention by security forces and the arrest of several protesters, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.