A senior commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was shot dead on Friday during clashes with anti-regime gunmen, according to state media.

Ali Mousavi, chief commander of the IRGC’s intelligence unit in the province of Sistan-Baluchestan, died after being shot in the chest by a group of “anti-regime” gunmen in the city of Zahedan, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

Earlier on Friday, state media had reported that gunmen opened fire at a police station in Zahedan, the provincial capital city of Sistan-Baluchestan, amid ongoing anti-government protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini earlier this month.

At least 76 people have been killed in Tehran’s violent crackdown on protesters, while anti-regime demonstrations have broken out in cities around the world.

Iran’s intelligence ministry says it has arrested nine foreigners over recent anti-hijab protests sweeping the country.

In a statement carried by the state-run news agency IRNA, the ministry said Friday that those arrested included citizens of Germany, Poland, Italy, France, the Netherlands and Sweden.

The protesters have vented anger over the treatment of women and wider repression in the Islamic Republic. The nationwide demonstrations rapidly escalated into calls for the overthrow of the clerical establishment that has ruled Iran since its 1979 Islamic revolution.

Image courtesy: AFP