FOUR people were left dead in Iran following clashes between riot police and protesters in several Iranian cities after the government raised the price of petrol by up to 300 percent.

The deaths occurred in separate incidents in the southern cities of Sirjan, Behbahan and Shiraz, while video footage showed protesters had attacked a military barracks used by the government’s feared Bajis militias in Tehran, setting it on fire.

Thousands of angry motorists parked their vehicles on major thoroughfares and highways in protest of the price hikes, urging others to stop and “join the national anti-government movement” as they drove by.

Iran’s chief public prosecutor, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, called the protestors “saboteurs” and warned they would face “severe punishment” if arrested. He has also alleged that foreign powers were behind the protests.

But in a sign of the Rouhani government’s increasing political isolation over the decision, a leading establishment cleric Grand ayatollah Golpaygani called for the decision to be reversed, describing it as “a matter of great regret” and “deplorable.”

Video footage from the city of Shiraz showed protesters over-running a police station and setting banks on fire, while chanting “death to the dictator” against Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran’s Interior Minister Abdulreza Rahmani Fazli announced the sudden 300 percent increase in the price of gasoline last Friday, saying that it was a decision by the country’s High Council for Economic Coordination. The government has also cut petrol subsidies to thousands of poor people. (SD-Agencies)