European officials condemn Iran internet shutdown, urge support for protesters

European officials and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have strongly condemned Iran’s internet shutdown and the authorities’ response to ongoing protests, warning that Tehran is using digital blackouts and force to suppress dissent and hide abuses.

“The internet shutdown in Iran is not a technical issue. The regime uses it to hide brutality and break the resistance of protesters,” European Parliament member Hannah Neumann said in a post on X, Caliber.Az reports. 

“More violence, more arrests, more people disappearing. Families left not knowing if loved ones are alive, injured or imprisoned,” she added, calling the blackout “a deliberate strategy to cut people off from help and protection, make the regime’s deadly violence invisible, silence those under attack, and prevent the world from seeing the size of the protests.”

“Internet blackouts are a weapon by the Iranian regime. Silence is not neutrality. It enables repression,” Neumann said, urging Europe to act. “Europe must speak up now! List the IRGC; stop deportations to Iran; protect those who stand up. Share the little footage that gets out.”

The #InternetShutdown in #Iran is not a technical issue. Regime uses it to hide brutality & break resistance of protesters.

More violence, more arrests, more people disappearing!

Families left not knowing if loved ones are alive, injured or imprisoned.
1/3 pic.twitter.com/TEKvESadzj

— Hannah Neumann (@HNeumannMEP) January 9, 2026

European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas also issued a strong statement, saying the Iranian authorities were responding to legitimate demands with excessive force.

The Iranian people are fighting for their future. By ignoring their rightful demands, the regime shows its true colours.

Images from Tehran reveal a disproportionate and heavy-handed response by the security forces.

Any violence against peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable.…

— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) January 9, 2026

“The Iranian people are fighting for their future. By ignoring their rightful demands, the regime shows its true colours,” Kallas wrote on X. “Images from Tehran reveal a disproportionate and heavy-handed response by the security forces.”

“Any violence against peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable,” she added. “Shutting down the internet while violently suppressing protests exposes a regime afraid of its own people.”

In London, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also voiced support for the protesters and stressed the importance of coordinated international action.

The prime minister has once again emphasised the right of citizens to peaceful protest, a Downing Street spokesperson said, adding that Starmer had underlined the need to coordinate responses with partners to the unfolding events in Iran.

By Sabina Mammadli