Internet connectivity across Iran suddenly dropped from full capacity to 5% on Thursday, as anti-government protests spread to at least 92 cities across the country.
Georgia Institute of Technology’s internet outage analysis shows a sharp drop in connectivity between 4:30 and 5 p.m. UTC. At 4:33 UTC, the heir to Iran’s last dynasty, Reza Pahlavi, called for Iranians to “take to the streets and, in united ranks, shout out your demands.”
“I warn the Islamic Republic, its leader, and the Revolutionary Guards that the world and the President of the United States are closely watching you. The suppression of the people will not go unanswered,” Pahlavi wrote.
A cybersecurity watchdog group, NetBlocks, confirmed the national internet shutdown from its own data, and said the incident “follows a series of escalating digital censorship measures targeting protests,” referencing Iran’s internet shutdowns from last June and December 2022.
The country was almost completely offline on Thursday evening.
Iran allegedly arrests more than 2,000 people
The most recent protests began at the end of December, led by shopkeepers and Bazaaris (a merchant class) over the country’s failing economy, The National Review reported.
A report by an Iranian, who is a senior financial economics adviser for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, stated that the country’s economy is “entering a dangerous phase of stagflation and free fall.”
When Ruhollah Khomeini overthrew the previous Iranian government in 1979, one U.S. dollar traded for 70 rials. Less than 50 years later, $1 is equal to about 1 million rials. “In the last year alone, the rial has lost 50% of its value,” the report said.
In several videos of the protests, Iranians can be seen holding their old country’s flag and chanting, “Long live the Shah.”
A Tehran-based group, Human Rights Activists in Iran, reported that Iranian authorities have arrested 2,076 citizens and killed 36 people. The Wall Street Journal reported that the slain include 34 protesters and two security/law enforcement members.
Pahlavi speaks on Fox News
The eldest son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last shah of Iran, told Fox News on Wednesday the scale of his country’s protests are shocking.
“Over a hundred cities and millions of people on the street chanting ‘Death to the dictator’” — Iran has “never seen an opportunity” like this to overthrow the country’s Islamic Republic, Pahlavi said.
He said he was “ready to step forward and lead this transition from this tyranny to a future democracy.” It’s unclear if Iranians would welcome him if they do topple the current government.
“I’m partial as to what the ultimate result will be so long as it’s a secular democracy,” Pahlavi said. “I’ve trained all my life to serve my nation. I’m there to serve and help them achieve that goal, and I’m more than ready to step in Iran as soon as the situation warrants itself. And I’ll be there with my compatriots to lead that battle.”