Meymeh, Isfahan: protest over the name of the “Meymeh and Vazvan” county put down with tear gas and gunfire

A protest by the people of Meymeh in Isfahan province over the naming of the newly created county “Meymeh and Vazvan” turned violent on Sunday 11 October 2026 after Islamic Republic security forces intervened. The protesters want the county's name to be simply “Meymeh.”

Videos published from Meymeh show the sound of gunfire, tear-gas smoke and protesters with bloodied clothes. The protest continued in the city's streets until evening, after which security forces fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. The type of weapon used and the number of wounded are still unclear. According to witnesses, several protesters were wounded and several were arrested; some of them were detained in hospital. On Tuesday 13 October, too, a wider presence of security forces in Meymeh was reported.

The story of naming the Meymeh and Vazvan county

The people of Meymeh had campaigned for about two decades to have the district upgraded to a county. The Islamic Republic's cabinet finally approved the upgrade, but in August 2024 the new county was named “Meymeh and Vazvan,” and that very decision provoked the protest of some residents.

The protesters say Meymeh's historic name should not be merged with the name of another town, and they cite the Interior Ministry's rules, which base naming on historical and geographical background and limit compound names to exceptional cases. Officials of the Islamic Republic, for their part, say Vazvan's right must also be reflected in the county's name. As of publication, no official has offered any explanation of the security forces' treatment of the protesters or of the gunfire.

The suppression of trade-union and local protests

In the published footage, a number of protesters were holding the Islamic Republic's flag and a picture of Ali Khamenei and chanting religious slogans; even so, security forces answered them the same way they have for years responded to trade-union, livelihood and local protests. Protests over water shortages, power cuts, fuel shortages and rising prices have likewise repeatedly met with tear gas, arrests and gunfire.

Isfahan province has in recent months repeatedly been the scene of violence by the authorities' forces, including the death of Pezhman Sourani under beatings by the authorities' forces in Najafabad and the presence of men carrying knives at an IRGC-backed march in Isfahan.

Even protesters carrying the Islamic Republic's flag met tear gas and gunfire from the security forces.