Iran suspends internet access as protests rise across the country
Iran has suspended access to the internet amid growing economic protests across the country due to economic hardship.
Human rights groups estimate that hundreds of Iranian protesters have been killed by government security forces since late last year in what could be Iran’s largest and perhaps most significant wave of protests since 2009.
The killing will be difficult to verify as Iran has imposed a complete internet blackout for several days, potentially forcing President Donald Trump to intervene militarily. He said he was considering a military strike and vowed to take action in Iran if protesters were killed.
The US-based Human Rights Defenders News Agency said it had confirmed the deaths of nearly 500 protesters. Anti-government demonstrators have taken to the streets across Iran for the past two weeks to protest economic corruption, soaring costs and the currency crisis. There is also widespread dissatisfaction in Iran with social and cultural restrictions mandated by Iran’s clerical leadership.
President Trump said Iranian leaders are seeking negotiations with the U.S. administration and a meeting is set, but “we may have to act in light of what is happening before the meeting.”
Iranian diplomatic missions in New York and London did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It is not immediately clear whether President Trump will be persuaded to use U.S. troops in Iran solely for human rights abuses. Officials in Israel, which similarly tracks Iran closely and fought a 12-day war with Tehran last year, did not immediately comment.
“I think the next three days are going to be extremely important,” said Trita Parsi, an Iranian analyst based in Washington, D.C. “But even if they were able to crack down on protests violently, it would only give[Iranian authorities]a short reprieve unless they did something very important, such as potentially replacing Iran’s supreme leader. But even that may prove insufficient.”
During unrest in Iran in 2009 following disputed election results, thousands of people were arbitrarily arrested and dozens were killed on the streets or died in custody, according to Iranian monitoring groups. Many said they had been tortured and abused. The last time there were large-scale protests in Iran was four years ago. The incident was sparked by the death of Iranian woman Martha Amini, who was arrested on suspicion of not wearing the hijab properly, while in police custody.
