Media: At least 45 killed as Iran cuts internet amid nationwide protests

At least 45 people, including eight children, have been killed during nationwide protests in Iran over the country’s worsening economic crisis, as authorities imposed a near-total internet blackout amid demonstrations spreading across all 31 provinces, The Guardian reports.

Although the exact cause of the internet outage remained unclear, it was first reported by internet freedom monitor NetBlocks, and Iranian authorities have previously shut down internet access in response to protests.

Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) said at least 45 people have been killed since protests erupted in late December, adding that hundreds were injured and more than 2,000 detained. Iranian officials, however, acknowledge at least 21 deaths, including members of the security forces.

President Masoud Pezeshkian urged security agencies to show restraint and engage in dialogue with society, according to Iranian official sources.

Demonstrations were reported in all 31 provinces on January 8, with shopkeepers in Kurdish regions and dozens of cities closing their stores in support of a general strike. In the southern province of Fars, protesters toppled a statue of slain IRGC General Qassem Soleimani.

The protests were triggered by a sharp deterioration in economic conditions, including a rapid fall in the national currency and soaring prices. Official data show food prices have risen by more than 70% over the past year, while medicine prices increased by around 50%, following the removal of a preferential exchange rate for importers.

Analysts describe the current unrest as the largest wave of protests in Iran in the past three years, though still smaller in scale than the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement of 2022.

The protests began on December 28, when traders at Tehran’s central bazaar took to the streets over the currency collapse, before spreading nationwide. Vendors of mobile phones, electronics and household appliances—who buy goods in foreign currency but sell in local money—have been among the most active participants, with students and other social groups later joining the demonstrations.

By Jeyhun Aghazada