Iranian authorities appeared to be selectively slowing internet access, if not cutting it entirely, in at least some regions amid mass protests and chanting against the government on Thursday.
The NetBlocks monitoring organization said its live data "show #Tehran and other parts of Iran are now entering a digital blackout, as internet connectivity falls on multiple providers; the new incident follows regional shutdowns, and is likely to severely limit coverage of events on the ground as protests spread."
The web cuts came as Iranians began chanting out of their windows against the regime, following a call by exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former U.S.-backed shah to make their voices heard.
Wednesday saw the most-intense day of demonstrations, reaching rural towns and major cities in every province though still localized enough for daily life to continue in Tehran, Iran's capital, and elsewhere. So far, violence around the demonstrations has killed at least 39 people while more than 2,260 others have been detained, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
The growth of the protests increases the pressure on Iran's civilian government and its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. So far, authorities haven't shut down the internet or fully flooded the streets with security forces like they did to put down the 2022 Mahsa Amini demonstrations. But Cloudflare, a widely used internet infrastructure company, detected sharply dropped internet traffic in Iran that it attributed to government action that "selectively blocks internet access amid protests."
NetBlocks said earlier that its "data show the loss of connectivity on #Iran internet backbone provider TCI in the restive city of Kermanshah as protests spread across the nation in their 12th day; the incident comes amid rising casualties with indications of disruptions in multiple regions."
has called for Iranians to chant together against the country's leadership at 8 p.m. local time (noon Eastern) on Thursday and Friday. Whether a significant number of people answer his call could determine whether deadly, 12-day-old protests fizzle out as previous rounds of unrest have, or grow into a major challenge to the government, and provoke a possible wider crackdown.
Protesters rip Iranian flag
Protesters rip Iranian flag as anti-government protests heat up
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