Iran has been hit by a nationwide internet and telecommunications blackout as mass protests spread and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei signaled a tougher crackdown on demonstrators.
The blackout has sharply limited communication inside Iran and with the outside world, even as reports from rights groups and news outlets describe rising deaths, injuries, and arrests tied to the unrest.
Nationwide blackout deepens isolation
Iran’s authorities imposed what monitoring group NetBlocks described as a nationwide internet blackout, and reports also described international calls being blocked.
Videos and online posts showed large crowds gathering in Tehran and other cities late Thursday into Friday, even as the country was cut off from much of the world’s communications.
France 24 reported that as protests erupted in multiple cities, NetBlocks reported a “nationwide internet blackout” in Iran.
Khamenei signals crackdown
Khamenei took a firm public stance against the demonstrators, portraying the unrest as tied to foreign enemies and warning that authorities would respond forcefully.
NBC News reported that Khamenei accused protesters of “destroying their own streets to please the president of another nation,” referring to US President Donald Trump.
Al Jazeera reported that in a televised speech, Khamenei called for “unity” in the face of what he described as “terrorist activities,” while reiterating that the state would crack down on the unrest.
NBC News also reported that Iran’s judiciary chief said the consequences for protesters would be “decisive, maximum, and without any leniency,” citing the Associated Press.
Death toll and arrest figures vary
France 24 reported that the Norway-based group Iran Human Rights said at least 45 demonstrators, including eight minors, had died since the protests began, and that Wednesday alone saw 13 confirmed protester deaths.
In the same report, France 24 said the group cited hundreds injured and more than 2,000 detained, while also noting that Iranian media and official accounts had confirmed at least 21 deaths, including among security personnel, in an AFP count.
Al Jazeera reported that the protests have led to the deaths of numerous protesters and at least four security personnel since demonstrations began on December 28.
Amnesty International said Iranian authorities have carried out a violent crackdown since December 28, involving unlawful use of force, firearms, and mass arbitrary arrests.
Amnesty International said at least 28 protesters and bystanders, including children, were killed in 13 cities across eight provinces between December 31 and January 3, and said it was investigating reports that unlawful lethal force intensified after the internet shutdown.
Why rights groups are sounding alarms
Amnesty International described the internet and telecommunications blackout imposed on January 8 as a move that can conceal the “true extent” of serious abuses during the crackdown.
In a statement, Amnesty International said blanket or total internet cuts are inherently disproportionate under international human rights law and called on Iranian authorities to restore full internet access.
NBC News also reported that Amnesty described security forces as unlawfully using tools such as pellet guns, water cannons, tear gas, and physical violence to disperse and punish largely peaceful demonstrators.
Trump’s warnings and cautious approach
Reuters reported that Trump has taken a cautious approach amid the mass protests, while warning that there would be “hell to pay” if Iranian leaders crack down on the protest movement.
NBC News reported that Trump repeated a warning in a radio interview that if Iranian authorities start killing people, the US would “hit them very hard,” while also addressing protesters with comments praising freedom and calling what happened to Iran “sad.”
DW reported that exiled former crown prince Reza Pahlavi urged Western leaders to press Iranian authorities to restore internet access so people’s voices “can be heard and recognized.”
