As the protests in Iran continued to grow on Thursday, the Islamic regime fired back by shutting down its internet infrastructure.
“As the protests grew, internet connectivity data showed an abrupt and near-total drop in connection levels in Iran on Thursday afternoon,” The New York Times reported. “The data indicates that the country is almost completely offline.”
⚠️ Update: #Iran has now been offline for 12 hours with national connectivity flatlining at ~1% of ordinary levels, after authorities imposed a national internet blackout in an attempt to suppress sweeping protests while covering up reports of regime brutality pic.twitter.com/furKo81BA3
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) January 9, 2026
Ali Safavi, a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), told Fox News that the internet shutdown started Thursday afternoon.
“Around 1 p.m. local time, the internet traffic dropped,” he said, adding there were widespread reports “that the regime had cut off the internet.”
Omid Memarian, an Iranian human rights expert, told the Times that the Iranian regime “uses internet shutdowns as a tool of repression.”
“Whenever protests reach a critical point, authorities sever the country’s connection to the global internet to isolate protesters and limit their communication with the outside world,” he said.
While Iranians have been protesting their government on and off for decades now, the latest round of protests began after opposition groups in the country started calling for people to take to the streets last week.
The latest round of protests is backed by Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
On January 7, Pahlavi issued his first direct public call for coordinated action, urging Iranians to chant anti-regime slogans at 8 p.m. local time on January 8 and 9 from streets or homes to build momentum.
When the time for the chanting finally came, “neighborhoods across Tehran erupted in chanting,” according to witnesses cited by Politico.
Chants heard included “death to the dictator” and “death to the Islamic Republic,” as well as “Pahlavi will return!”
BREAKING:
Absolutely massive crowd in Astara right now, chanting “This is the final battle, Pahlavi will return”.
This chant is punishable by hanging yet nobody cares anymore. Nobody is scared anymore.
It’s beautiful. pic.twitter.com/nSSLt4sqc1
— ♛ ✡︎ (@NiohBerg) January 7, 2026
Pahlavi took note of what the regime did to the internet.
“Iranians demanded their freedom tonight. In response, the regime in Iran has cut all lines of communication,” he said. “It has shut down the Internet. It has cut landlines. It may even attempt to jam satellite signals.”
He continued by calling on Europeans to take U.S. President Donald Trump’s lead in vowing to “hold the regime to account.”
“I call on them to use all technical, financial, and diplomatic resources available to restore communication to the Iranian people so that their voice and their will can be heard and seen,” he added. “Do not let the voices of my courageous compatriots be silenced.”
Trump, for his par,t warned talk show host Hugh Hewitt on Thursday that there will be a price to pay if Iranians start killing peaceful protesters:
President Trump tells Hugh Hewitt that he has already taken down Iran and he doesn’t seem too worried about doing it again. #WORL pic.twitter.com/7tFLgaIAg1
— AM 950 – FM 94.9 The Answer Orlando (@AM950_FM949) January 8, 2026
However, according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), 44 protesters have already been killed.
“They were killed in recent days by direct fire from the criminal Revolutionary Guards and the suppressive forces loyal to the regime’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei,” the NCRI reported Thursday.
Among the deceased were a woman and two teenagers.
The latest round of protests erupted last month because of rising inflation, rising food prices, and the depreciation of the Iranian currency.
“In late December, economic pressures drove merchants, traders, and university students in many cities to stage protests, shutting down marketplaces and demonstrating on campuses,” according to the Times.
“Over the past year, Iran’s currency has lost more than half its value against the dollar, and official statistics show that inflation exceeded 42 percent in December alone,” the report continued.
Brave Iranians protesting the Islamic regime in over 100 cities!
The regime now imposes a nationwide internet blackout to silently launch a massacre. Be their voice!#IranProtests #IranRevolution
pic.twitter.com/7i8eN9kqvj— Kim Wexler’s Ponytail (@__Badass_______) January 8, 2026
As of Friday, Jan. 9, the protests had been ongoing for 13 days straight.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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