Fresh Protests Sweep Iran as Internet Blackout Fuels Fears of Brutal Crackdown

New mass demonstrations erupted across major Iranian cities overnight, as activists warned on Saturday that authorities may be intensifying a violent crackdown under the cover of a nationwide internet shutdown.

The unrest, now entering its second week, represents one of the most serious challenges to Iran’s theocratic leadership since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has remained defiant, blaming the United States for fomenting the protests.

Following the largest demonstrations so far on Thursday, fresh rallies broke out late Friday, according to images verified by AFP and videos circulating on social media, despite a sweeping internet blackout imposed by the authorities. Internet monitor Netblocks said early Saturday that “metrics show the nationwide internet blackout remains in place at 36 hours.”

The communications shutdown has heightened fears among activists and rights groups that security forces are escalating their response with limited scrutiny from the outside world.

Amnesty International said it was reviewing “distressing reports that security forces have intensified their unlawful use of lethal force against protesters” since Thursday, warning the escalation has resulted in further deaths and injuries.

Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi cautioned that security forces could be preparing a “massacre under the cover of a sweeping communications blackout,” adding that she had received reports of hundreds of people being treated for eye injuries at a single hospital in Tehran. Rights groups have previously accused Iranian forces of deliberately targeting protesters’ eyes with birdshot.

The Norway-based Iran Human Rights group said at least 51 people have been killed so far, while warning the true toll may be higher.

Award-winning filmmakers Mohammad Rasoulof and Jafar Panahi accused authorities of using “the most blatant tools of repression,” pointing to the internet blackout.
“Experience has shown that resorting to such measures is intended to conceal the violence inflicted during the suppression of protests,” they said.

‘Seize and hold city centres’

In Tehran’s Saadatabad district, residents were seen banging pots and chanting slogans including “death to Khamenei,” as passing cars honked in support, according to AFP-verified footage.

Similar scenes were reported in other parts of the capital and in cities including Mashhad, Tabriz, Qom, and Hamedan, where one video showed a man waving a pre-revolution Iranian flag bearing the lion and sun symbol amid fires and dancing crowds.

Footage from Mashhad’s Vakilabad district, home to one of Shiite Islam’s holiest shrines, showed demonstrators marching and chanting “death to Khamenei,” though not all videos could be independently verified.

US-based opposition figure Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran’s last shah, praised Friday’s turnout as “magnificent” and urged protesters to intensify actions over the weekend.

“Our goal is no longer just to take to the streets. The goal is to prepare to seize and hold city centres,” Pahlavi said in a video message, adding that he was “preparing to return to my homeland” at a time he said was “very near.”

Government pushes back

Iranian authorities say several members of the security forces have been killed. In a defiant speech on Friday, Khamenei condemned “vandals” and accused the United States of orchestrating the unrest.

State television on Saturday aired images of funerals for slain security personnel, including a large ceremony in the southern city of Shiraz.

Iran’s army said it would “vigorously protect and safeguard national interests” against an “enemy seeking to disrupt order and peace,” while national security council chief Ali Larijani declared, “we are in the middle of a war,” claiming the protests were being directed from abroad.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump again declined to rule out further military action against Iran following Washington’s support for Israel during a 12-day conflict in June.

“Iran’s in big trouble. It looks to me that the people are taking over certain cities that nobody thought were really possible just a few weeks ago,” Trump said.

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