Fire and gunshots at Tehran jail holding Iranian political prisoners

A fire broke out on Saturday in Tehran's Evin prison, where many of Iran's political and dual-national detainees are held, and witnesses reported hearing gunfire.

State news agency IRNA said eight people were injured in the unrest, which erupted after nearly a month of protests across Iran over the death in detention of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman.

The protests have posed one of the most serious challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution, with demonstrations spreading across the country and some people chanting for the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

An Iranian judiciary statement said a prison workshop was set on fire "after a fight among a number of prisoners convicted of financial crimes and theft". Tehran's fire department told state media the cause of the incident was under investigation.

Fire and gunshots at Tehran jail holding Iranian political prisoners — including U.S. citizens