BLACKOUT & BLOOD — Iran Pulls the Plug as Protesters Defy Khamenei.
Iran’s government has imposed a nationwide internet shutdown as protests continue to spread despite a violent crackdown that rights groups say has killed dozens, exposing deep fractures inside the Islamic Republic and growing fear at the top of the regime.
Demonstrations erupted again Thursday in Tehran and multiple provincial cities, even as security forces intensified their response. Videos posted before the blackout showed shops shuttered in Tehran’s historic bazaar, a powerful signal of unrest in a country already reeling from soaring inflation and a collapsing currency.
What began as protests over economic hardship has now morphed into a direct political challenge. Crowds in Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan and Kermanshah were heard chanting slogans against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — a red line rarely crossed in the Islamic Republic.
By early evening, monitoring group NetBlocks confirmed that Iran had cut off internet access nationwide, a tactic long used by authorities to isolate protesters, slow mobilization and prevent images of violence from reaching the outside world.
The crackdown has been brutal. Amnesty International said security forces have fired live ammunition, metal pellets and tear gas at largely peaceful demonstrators, while beating and arbitrarily arresting hundreds. The Hengaw Human Rights Organization reported at least 42 people killed so far, including six children. Families of victims, Amnesty said, have been threatened into silence, with officials warning of secret burials if they refuse to cooperate.
Inside the government, the response has been fractured. President Masoud Pezeshkian has struck a conciliatory tone, urging dialogue, while hard-liners have vowed zero tolerance. Iran’s judiciary chief warned this week there would be “no leniency” for anyone deemed to be aiding the regime’s enemies.
The unrest is unfolding under growing international pressure. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned Tehran that further killings could trigger American intervention — a threat that Iranian leaders are taking seriously after Washington’s recent capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.
For now, neither side is backing down. The streets remain tense, the internet is dark, and Iran’s leadership faces a dangerous dilemma: escalate the violence and risk foreign intervention, or ease repression and risk losing control.
