Tehran and other parts of Iran faced a widespread internet outage on Thursday as connectivity dropped across several providers. The authorities reportedly took this decision deliberately amid ardent protests across the country.
“Just before 12:00 UTC today, the amount of announced IPv6 address space in #Iran dropped by ~98.5%, concurrent with IPv6 traffic share dropping from ~12% to ~1.8%, as the govt. selectively blocks Internet access amid protests,” Cloudflare Radar, which monitors connectivity, posted on X.
The unrest in Iran began in late December 2025, when merchants in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar shut their shops to voice their opposition to the rapid depreciation of the Iranian rial, soaring inflation and the rising cost of food and essential goods.
Stir intensifies over economic woes
Protests reached their peak on Wednesday, spreading from major cities to rural towns. According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, cited by AP, at least 38 people have been killed in violent clashes and over 2,200 others have been detained since the demonstrations began.
Activists reported that at least 37 protests took place across the country on Wednesday. In Shiraz, online videos appeared to show security forces using water cannons from anti-riot trucks against demonstrators.
The protests appear to be largely without formal leadership, similar to previous waves of demonstrations in Iran. However, Iran’s exiled Crown Prince, Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late Shah, has called on citizens to make their voices heard by shouting from windows and rooftops on Thursday and Friday nights at 8 pm.
The continuing unrest is increasing pressure on both Iran’s civilian government and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the protests show no signs of slowing.
