Tehran, Jan 9 (.) Iran was largely cut off from the outside world today after authorities imposed a sweeping internet blackout in an effort to contain expanding nationwide protests, severing phone connections, grounding flights and leaving Iranian news websites only sporadically accessible.
The shutdown came as Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dismissed protesters as “rioters” and vowed not to step down or bow to what he described as pressure and intimidation. In remarks aired on state television, Khamenei accused demonstrators of acting on behalf of US President Donald Trump, warning that Iran would not tolerate people behaving as “mercenaries for foreigners” or attacking public property.
However, the full scale of the protests could not be determined immediately due to the communications blackout, though have intensified steadily since beginning December 28, morphing into one of Tehran’s largest anti-govt protests.
The Kurdish rights organisation Hengaw said a protest march after Friday prayers in the southeastern city of Zahedan, home to a large Baluch minority, was met with gunfire that wounded several people.
Anti-government figures abroad urged Iranians to keep up the pressure, with the exiled crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, son of the late Shah of Iran, calling on people to continue protesting, and wrote on social media, “The eyes of the world are upon you. Take to the streets.”
His appeal generated massive momentum in the protests, as swathes of people taking to the streets, have slammed the ruling theocracy in support of the old monarchy.
Despite the ruthless crackdown by security forces, the demonstrations have surged nationwide, and carried forth into several areas and districts beyond the larger cities, turning the whole thing into a game of attrition as neither side is bending from their stance.
Trump, who ordered air strikes on Iran last summer and last week warned Tehran that Washington could intervene if protesters were violently killed, today expressed his reluctance to meet Pahlavi, saying he was “not sure that it would be appropriate” to support him.
State television overnight broadcast images it said showed buses, cars and motorbikes ablaze, along with fires at metro stations and banks.
Authorities accused the exiled opposition group, People’s Mujahedin Organisation, also known as the MKO, of orchestrating the unrest.
According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 42 people have been killed and more than 2,270 detained since the protests began. Videos captured from Tehran showed crowds chanting “Death to Khamenei,” underscoring the depth of anger directed at the ruling clerical establishment.
“This is exactly why the internet was shut down: to prevent the world from seeing the protests,” said Holly Dagres of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “Unfortunately, it also likely provided cover for security forces to kill protesters.”
While Iran has quelled far bigger bouts of unrest before, this bout of anti-govt protests is a greater challenge, despite its smaller scale due to Tehran’s extremely fragile economic condition, intensifying international pressure with global sanctions, and its overall diplomatic isolation due to its ongoing missile programme, and attempts to enrich weapons grade uranium.
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