A minister has dismissed media reports that protests over shortages of potable water in a southwest province late on Saturday had resulted in one death.
Only one person was injured in a shooting incident and taken to hospital, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli told a press briefing in Tehran on Sunday, IRNA reported.
He was referring to protests in the city of Khorramshahr in Khuzestan Province over increasing salinity of drinking water resources that turned violent as demonstrators clashed with police and law enforcement officers.
IRNA said protesters threw stones and other objects at police, who responded with tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Some demonstrators damaged public property including banks and set fire to a new bridge in the city.
10 Policemen Injured
Deputy Interior Minister Hossein Zolfaqari said Sunday that there was reportedly one armed person among the crowd who opened fire but had not been identified.
"One protestor and 10 police officers were injured during the clashes," IRNA quoted him as telling reporters.
"No one was killed in the unrest," he said, adding that the water problem in Khorramshahr would be resolved in a few days.
Calm Restored
According to official media reports, calm has been restored in the city, which has been the scene of demonstrations for the past few days, along with the nearby oil city of Abadan.
The protests took place after days of demonstrations in Tehran, including protesters confronting police outside Parliament. The rallies led to the temporary closure of the Grand Bazaar in south Tehran.
The unrest comes as international firms withdraw from Iran after US President Donald Trump's decision to exit the 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers and reimpose economic sanctions on the country.
Sporadic demonstrations have broken out in the country since the beginning of the year over water shortages – a growing concern due to drought that residents in parched areas and independent experts say has been exacerbated by mismanagement, high consumption by farmers and systemic decline in precipitation
Unauthorized Protests
In his press conference, Rahmani Fazli said the Interior Ministry is against unauthorized protests because they are likely to spiral out of control and turn violent as no one accepts responsibility if things go wrong.
Sometimes there are elements in illegal gatherings who seek to exploit the situation by creating chaos and disrupting social order, the minister said. "In such cases security is undermined if police officers do not fulfill their responsibilities."
Not Organized
Asked whether protests in recent months across the country have been organized, Rahmani Fazli said, "So far we have not come to the conclusion that a certain political group or some individuals have been inciting people in an organized manner."
People have the right to express their demands in a lawful manner, he said, calling on officials and those in charge to unite and help address the economic problems so that people not lose their trust in the authorities and their ability to put things right.
