Tehran: At least seven people have been reportedly killed in Iran as protesters and security forces clashed in several cities during demonstrations in the Islamic Republic's rural provinces over the ailing economy and rising cost of living.

The deaths are believed to mark the start of a heavier-handed response by Iran's theocracy over the demonstrations against Iran's Islamic regime led by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which have slowed in the capital, Tehran, but expanded elsewhere over the days.