IranWire

Security forces shot and killed at least two truck drivers during strikes in central Isfahan on Sunday.

The drivers were killed as truck drivers and bazaar merchants in Isfahan joined nationwide protests and strikes now entering their third week, sources told IranWire. Despite the shootings, the strike continued.

The truck drivers’ strike coincided with a merchants’ strike on Shapur-e-Jadid Street in northern part of Isfahan.

The street, located in the Mahmoudabad industrial area, is a major economic hub that houses machinery wholesalers and repair shops.

Security forces opened fire on striking workers and merchants who had gathered at the protest site.

After dark on Sunday, protesters gathered along the Zayandeh Rud riverbank and chanted anti-government slogans, including “Death to Khamenei,” a reference to Iran’s supreme leader.

The strikes in Isfahan began on Saturday and continued into Sunday.

Participating merchants came from multiple districts, including Khaneh Isfahan in Malekshahr, Hakim, Nezami, Moshtaq, Shapour, Simin, Khaqani, and Towhid, as well as the nearby city of Shahinshahr.

The deaths come as Iran enters its fifth day of a nationwide internet blackout imposed as demonstrations spread across the country. The protests began in late December following a sharp currency devaluation.

Rights groups and witnesses report that security forces have killed hundreds of protesters in recent days, though exact casualty figures remain difficult to verify amid ongoing communications disruptions.