Internet blackout in Iran amid shouts of ‘death to dictator’ | World | News
Iran’s government has cut off internet and international telephone calls as protesters shouted from their windows and stormed the streets at night.
They nightime demostrations on Thursday, January 9, were the first test of whether the Iranian public could be swayed by Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the Associated Press reported. The protests have remained broadly leaderless.
Internet firm CloudFlare and the advocacy group NetBlocks reported the internet outage. They attributed it to government interference, while AP reported that attempts dial landlines and mobile phones from Dubai to Iran could not be connected. Past outages have been followed by intense government crackdowns.
“Iranians demanded their freedom tonight. In response, the regime in Iran has cut all lines of communication,” Pahlavi said.
He said the Iranian regime shut down the internet and cut landlines.
Pahlavi’s father fled the country just before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Demonstrations have included cries in support of the shah, which could previously have brought the death sentence.
At least 42 people have been killed in the violence around the demonstrations and more than 2,270 others have been detained, AP reported.
The demonstrations in cities and rural towns across Iran continued on Thursday and more markets and bazaars shut down in solidatrity. Growing protest increases the pressure on Iran’s civilian government and its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Pahlavi had called for demonstrations at 8pm local time on Thursday and Friday. Neighborhoods across Tehran broke out in chanting as the clock struck, shouting “Death to the dictator!” and “Death to the Islamic Republic!” Some praised the shah, chanting “This is the last battle! Pahlavi will return!”
AP reported that thousands could be seen on the streets before all communication to Iran cut out.
Iranian officials appeared to be taking the planned protests seriously. A video published online by the Kayhan newspaper claimed security forces would use drones to identify these participating in the demostations.
Reports have emerged of security officials being hurt or killed.
One news agency reported that a police colonel suffered fatal stab wounds in a town outside of Tehran, while another said gunmen killed two security force members and wounded 30 others in a shooting in the city of Lordegan.
One official said an attack at a police station killed five people Wednesday night in Chenaran, about 700 kilometers (430 miles) northeast of Tehran and late on Thursday, the Revolutionary Guard said two members of its forces were killed in Kermanshah.
Iranian officials have not acknowledged the scale of the overall protests.
Iran has faced waves of protest action in recent years. The country’s rial currency collapsed in December, reaching 1.4 million to $1 on the back of tighter sanctions and the 12-day war, AP reported. Protests began shortly after against Iran’s theocracy. Iranian officials have yet to take a firmer approach to protesters.
US President Donald Trump last week warned that his country “will come to their rescue” if the government “violently kills peaceful protesters”.
Iran has “been told very strongly… that if they do that, they’re going to have to pay hell,” Trump told talk show host Hugh Hewitt.
Asked if he would meet with Pahlavi, Trump said he was “not sure that it would be appropriate at this point to do that as President”.
“I think that we should let everybody go out there, and we see who emerges,” Trump said.
