Internet Service Cut Across Iran As Anti-Regime Demonstrations Grow
Iranian authorities appeared to cut internet access across large parts of the country Thursday as anti-regime protests continued to grow for a 12th day.
Internet monitoring group NetBlocks showed Iran entering a nationwide digital blackout around 8:30 p.m. local time.
The outage comes as the Islamic Regime moves to crack down on protests with force on the ground. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday referred to the protesters as rioters, and said they “must be put in their place.”
ANALYSIS: “The Iranian government uses internet shutdowns as a tool of repression,” said Omid Memarian, an Iranian human rights expert to the New York Times. “Whenever protests reach a critical point, authorities sever the country’s connection to the global internet to isolate protesters and limit their communication with the outside world.”
WHAT WE KNOW
Videos posted to social media before connectivity dropped showed huge crowds in cities including Tehran, Mashhad, and western Iran. One video from Mashhad showed demonstrators tearing an Iranian flag in half.
At least 45 protesters — including eight under the age of 18 — have been killed during the first 12 days of unrest, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights NGO (IHRNGO). The group said hundreds more have been injured and more than 2,000 people detained since protests began on December 28, 2025.
Rewind: The unrest — the largest wave of protests in Iran in nearly three years — were touched off by soaring inflation and the collapse of the currency, but have quickly pivoted to calls for an end to nearly 50 years of Islamic theocratic authoritarian rule.