Video footage and photographs circulating on social media show a man lying on the ground believed to be dead as others flee tear gas and live rounds from the police.
Iranian government officials however, including the mayor of Khorramshahr, have denied the reports of the death.
Iranian media quoted mayor Waliullah Hayati as saying that no one was killed and that only five people were slightly injured.
Residents of Khorramshahr took to the streets Saturday evening to protest against a stop in the supply of drinking water to parts of the city which the mayor says is being addressed by the government.
Khorramshahr, southwest of #Iran
— IRAN HRM (@IranHrm) June 30, 2018
Video shows intense gunfire by the state forces against the protesters.sounds like war zone and the entire city is on fire #خونینشهر #خرمشهر_آب_ندارد pic.twitter.com/i04HuYQ5ma
A project to supply clean desalinated water to the city has missed its completion deadline, which is said to be the main cause of the protests.
Iran’s State Minister Abdulreza Rahmani Fadhli told reporters on Sunday that there have been no casualties in the confrontation between protesters and the police.
Fadhli admitted that the police had opened fire and that one protestor has been hospitalized as a result.
“We’ve no problem with demonstrations,” the minister said, according to ISNA news agency. “But when the protests reach the street some people jump in and get excited and some others take advantage of it and act in a way that would affect the security and order.”
Twitter and Facebook posts of Khorramshahr speak of frustration and anger against mismanagement in the city.
According to BBC Persian the city’s official and government-appointed Friday preacher, Abdulnabi Musawi, has threatened to join the protests if provincial and state officials fail to address the city’s grievances.
