Iran's security forces intensify crackdown on protests, 2 killed
Iran's security forces stepped up their crackdown on anti-government protests on Saturday that left two people dead. Another protester was shot in the stomach by IRGC security forces and died.
Staff Editor 
Iran's security forces stepped up their crackdown on anti-government protests on Saturday that left two people dead.
A driver in his car was shot dead by security forces in Sanandaj, while two teachers at a school in Saqz were injured, according to Iranian human rights group Henga. Henga said another protester was shot in the stomach by IRGC security forces and died.
At the schools in Sanandaz and Saqz, students started protesting, Azhin Shekhi of Henga told CNN. Then, government forces launched an attack on a school in Saqz.
Iran's security forces opened fire on protesters and used tear gas in the Kurdish cities of Sanandaz and Saqeez, in fresh protests that have gathered momentum for weeks of nationwide demonstrations. Henga said there were widespread attacks in Sakez, Diwandareh, Mahabad and Sanandaj.
The Norwegian-registered Hangau human rights organization is monitoring human rights violations in Iran's Kurdish region, where protests began three weeks ago, following the death of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian Kurdish woman, while morality was in police custody. Sakej is also his hometown.
Meanwhile, protests continue in Tehran, Karaj, Esfahan, Shiraz, Kerman, Mashhad, Tabriz and Rasht, among other places across the country, CNN reported.
Speaking at Alzahra University, an all-girls institution in Tehran, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi commented on the latest riots across the country. It is not clear whether the protests took place while the president was at the university, CNN reported.
Video provided to US-funded Radio Farda also shows riot police beating a young woman in Tehran.
The total death toll since the protests began has varied according to the government, opposition groups, international rights organizations and local journalists.
An Iran-focused human rights group based in Norway, IranHR, counted the number of deaths across Iran since the protests began at 154. Human Rights Watch said that as of September 31, Iranian state-affiliated media put the number of deaths at 60.
