Iran has plunged into a nationwide internet blackout as authorities move to suppress widening anti-government demonstrations that have spread to all 31 provinces.
In a televised address on Friday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a stern warning, accusing protesters of being “mercenaries” for the United States and Israel and vowing that the government will not tolerate those “ruining” the country.
Okay News reports that the unrest, originally triggered last month by a sharp collapse in the value of the rial, has escalated into a major challenge for the regime. Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei has threatened “maximum” and “decisive” punishment for those involved. According to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activist News Agency, the violence has resulted in the deaths of 34 protesters and four security personnel, with approximately 2,200 arrests recorded.
The digital blackout, which began late Thursday, has cut off international phone calls and obscured the situation on the ground from the outside world. The escalation follows a call for mass action by exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi.
However, US President Donald Trump, who previously warned that the United States could aid protesters, stated on Friday that he would not meet with Pahlavi, describing such a move as potentially inappropriate.
