Iran Protests Update: Government Cuts Internet As Protests Intensify
The shutdown comes as thousands of citizens took to the streets across 31 provinces, following a call for mass demonstrations by the country’s exiled Crown Prince, Reza Pahlavi.
In a move to end the largest wave of civil unrest in three years, Iranian authorities implemented a nationwide internet blackout on late Thursday night, reports AFP.
The shutdown comes as thousands of citizens took to the streets across 31 provinces, following a call for mass demonstrations by the country’s exiled Crown Prince, Reza Pahlavi.
Internet monitoring group NetBlocks confirmed a sharp drop in connectivity starting around 8:00 p.m. local time on January 8, 2026. The disruption affected both mobile and landline services, effectively severing the country’s link to the global digital landscape, reports Reuters.
The protests intensified resulting in a police colonel getting stabbed to death near Tehran, two security members shot in Lordegan, and five people killed during an attack on a police station in Chenaran. In response, hard-line outlets like Kayhan have threatened to use drones to identify and track demonstrators.
Protesters chanted "Death to the Islamic Republic" and "Pahlavi will return," calling the moment the "last battle." Pahlavi warned the Revolutionary Guard that the world, and specifically President Donald Trump, was watching, stating that any further suppression would not go unanswered.
The regime’s hesitation to launch a full-scale military crackdown may be linked to President Trump’s warning that the US would intervene if peaceful protesters were killed.
While the Iranian Foreign Ministry dismissed these warnings as "hypocritical," the U.S. State Department continues to amplify footage of the unrest online. Meanwhile, from prison, Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi’s family continues to echo the protesters' core demand: a definitive end to the clerical and patriarchal dictatorship.
Iran has faced rounds of nationwide protests in recent years. As sanctions tightened and Iran struggled after a 12-day war with Israel in June, its rial currency collapsed in December, reaching 1.4 million to USD 1. Protests began soon after, with demonstrators chanting against Iran's theocracy.
Prior to Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, the rial was broadly stable, trading at around 70 to $1. At the time of Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, $1 traded for 32,000 rials. Shops in markets across the country have shut down as part of the protests, reported news agency AP.
