Five reportedly killed at protests over soaring food prices

The unrest follows the government’s decision to cut food import subsidies, as part of an austerity package unveiled by President Ebrahim Raisi earlier this week. The measures are aimed at rescuing an economy battered by sanctions, and also soaring inflation, which has been aggravated by the Ukraine conflict.

The scrapping of subsidies has resulted in dramatic – up to 300% – increases in prices of everyday goods, such as cooking oil, chicken, eggs and milk.