At least 35 people killed,1,200 detained in Iran's economic protests

TEHRAN

The death toll in violence surrounding protests in Iran has risen to at least 35 people, activists said on Jan. 6, as the country's theocracy acknowledged the unrest in one western province where security forces reportedly raided a hospital.

The figure came from the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which said more than 1,200 people have been detained in the protests, which have been ongoing for more than a week.

It said 29 protesters, four children and two members of Iran’s security forces have been killed. Demonstrations have reached over 250 locations in 27 of Iran’s 31 provinces,

Late on Jan. 5 , Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian assigned the country's Interior Ministry to form a special team for a “full-fledged investigation” of what had been happening in Ilam province.

Malekshahi County in Iran’s Ilam province, some 515 kilometers (320 miles) southwest of Iran's capital, Tehran, has seen protesters killed as online videos purported to show security forces firing on civilians.

The presidency also acknowledged an “incident in a hospital in the city of Ilam.” Online video showed security forces wearing riot gear raiding a hospital, where activists said they were seeking demonstrators.

The hospital assault drew criticism from the U.S. State Department, which in Iran's Farsi language called the incident “a crime.”

A report by Fars earlier alleged without offering evidence that demonstrators carried firearms and grenades. Firearms are more prevalent in western Iran, along the border with Iraq, but there’s been no clear evidence provided by the government to support allegations of demonstrators being armed. Ilam has hundreds of kilometers (miles) of border with Iraq.

Iran's rural Ilam province is mainly home to the country's Kurdish and Lur ethnic groups and faces severe economic hardship.

The growing death toll carries with it the possibility of American intervention. U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran on Jan. 2 that if Tehran “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the United States “will come to their rescue.”