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Protests over the economy in Iran turned violent. Live from the UK, this is the Marketplace Morning Report from the BBC World Service.

I'm Guy Kilty. Good morning.

Authorities in Iran say at least six people were killed during clashes between security forces and protesters on Thursday,

the fifth day of demonstrations against the government's economic policies.

Protests began on Sunday after shopkeepers in Tehran went on strike over rising prices due to the

weakness of Iran's currency. Unrest has since spread to other cities across the country.

Meran Kamvara is an Iranian analyst and professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar.

He told me more about the economic factors behind the protests.

Well, they're about the dire economic circumstances in which Iranians find themselves.

The national currency, the real is plummeting, and inflation officially is at 42%.

Unofficially, it's significantly higher.

You say Iran's currency is plummeting.

Just paint as a picture about how things have changed in the country in recent months and perhaps

years.

Well, the government has really declared itself unable to do anything about economic circumstances.

It's really unwilling to do anything about economic circumstances.

There are unofficial rates of dollar to the real, and so many government entities, many individuals who are well connected are getting favorable government

rates in currency conversion.

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