ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Protests over a gold mine project in western Iran's Kurdistan province resulted in one person killed and three severely injured by security forces’ fire, human rights groups and state media reported. The shooting occurred as residents protested against environmental damage and hardship from the country's largest gold mine project running.

“The armed forces of the Islamic republic of Iran targeted protesters protesting the continuation of the 'Qolqoleh' gold mine project in Saqqez with a barrage of bullets, killing Mohammad Rashidi and seriously injuring three other citizens,” the Oslo-based Hengaw Human Rights Organization reported late Monday.

Hossein Hosseini from the Kurdistan province's judiciary communication office, however, blamed the shooting on "mine security forces," stating that "several residents of Pir Amran village went to the gold mine and clashed with security forces," Iranian state media IRNA reported on Tuesday.

Hosseini added that the perpetrators were arrested, and a judicial investigation is underway.

The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported on Tuesday that the protesters were “a group of farmers living in the village of Pir Amran in Saqqez, who had held a protest rally to protest the construction of an unlicensed road through their farmland to the Qolqoleh gold mine, and were shot by armed forces guarding the mine.”

Based on several reports from human rights groups, the project has drawn repeated protests from locals over environmental damage and road destruction in the surrounding area.

The Kurdistan Gold Mines Development Company, a subsidiary of a state-affiliated investment holding, had previously announced that the Saqqez gold mine is expected to extract over 500 kilograms of gold bullion annually. It plans to cooperate with the Sadr Tamin Investment Company (TASSICO) to process the extracted gold into bars. The mine, recently launched as the country's largest, is expected to produce about 500 kilograms of gold annually, worth roughly $53 million.

Many Iranians are grappling with economic hardship under years of harsh sanctions. This crisis is exacerbated in the Kurdish regions of western Iran (Rojhelat), which have long been underdeveloped, facing limited job opportunities and a lack of government investment.

Gold mining frequently results in deforestation, water and soil contamination, destruction of wildlife habitat, erosion, and long-term health risks for nearby communities.

The provinces of Kurdistan (Sanandaj) and Urmia are the largest gold resources in Iran, with only five mines estimated to contain more than 330 tons of pure gold.

According to the Iranian Parliamentary Research Center, the country has about 800 tons of pure gold reserves, ranking 18th in the world.