2 injured after truck plows into Iran protest crowd in Los Angeles

At least two people were injured on Sunday when a truck plowed into a crowd of protesters gathered in Los Angeles for a demonstration related to the situation in Iran, authorities said.

A driver allegedly drove a U-Haul truck into the crowd during the rally in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, the second-largest city in the United States.

Two patients were evaluated and both declined treatment or to be transported to the hospital, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a news release.

Firefighters and paramedics also responded to reports of a third person injured in the vicinity, according to the department.

Law enforcement at the scene took a man from the U-Haul and appeared to take him into custody. As police walked the man away, some protesters were seen trying to punch him and hit him with flag poles, as reported by the local KABC television station.

The demonstration was one of many held globally in solidarity with protesters inside Iran, where nationwide unrest, which Iran has blamed on the United States and Israel, has persisted for weeks.

Deadly clashes have been reported in recent days between Iranian police and what the government described as "rioters," amid ongoing protests in several Iranian cities since late December over the sharp fall of the rial and economic hardship.

Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency, citing an informed source, reported on Sunday that the clashes-related death toll over the past few days is "significant," without providing the exact number.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday that the Iranian government is determined to address the economic problems facing the people, urging Iranians to refrain from any "destructive actions."

Speaking to the state-run IRIB news agency in a televised interview, Pezeshkian said the government is "ready to listen to its people."

He also accused the United States and Israel of ordering "rioters" to create instability in Iran following the 12-day war between Israel and Iran last year.

(With input from agencies)