Soleimani Statue Toppled As Iran Protests Gain Momentum
Anti-government protesters in Iran's Fars Province toppled a statue honoring deceased Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, the former head of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), as demonstrations continued for an 11th night on January 7.
The independent Internet observatory NetBlocks is now reporting that parts of Iran are entering a "digital blackout."
And cybersecurity and digital rights expert Amir Rashidi has also been weighing in.
Here's some footage shared on shared on social media, which RFE/RL's Radio Farda has determined shows protesters marching tonight on Tehran's Ayatollah Kashani Boulevard.
Trump: Tehran Will 'Have To Pay Hell' If Authorities Kill Protesters
US President Donald Trump has reiterated warnings that Washington was ready to intervene if Tehran killed protesters during the ongoing demonstrations.
Speaking to conservative political commentator and talk show host Hugh Hewitt on January 8, he said that he had let Iranian authorities "know that if they start killing people -- which they tend to do during their riots, they have lots of riots -- if they do it, we're going to hit them very hard." He later added the Iranian government had "been told very strongly that...if they do that, they are going to have to pay hell."
The US President had previously warned the Iranian government about using violence against protesters.
Anti-Government Protests Continue Across Tehran
Protesters were out in the streets in many neighborhoods of Tehran on January 8, the twelfth night of anti-government protests. Eyewitnesses told Radio Farda that police used tear gas against the crowds in Tehran’s Yousefabad neighborhood.
Another update on the current Internet situation in Iran from cybersecurity expert and digital rights advocate Amir Rashidi.
Protests Swell In Tehran As Internet Is Restricted Across The Country
Videos shared with RFE/RL's Radio Farda on January 8 show mass protests taking place across many neighborhoods in the Iranian capital. Meanwhile, observers were reporting Internet outages across the country, blocking citizens from sharing information about the ongoing unrest.
We are now closing the live blog for today, but we'll be back again tomorrow morning at 7:30 am Central European Time to follow events as they happen. Until then, take care.
Iran Under National Internet Blackout, Says Watchdog
The NetBlocks cyber watchdog reported on January 9 that Iran had been "offline" for 12 hours, as the authorities in the Islamic republic are restricting access to the Internet in an attempt to quell the increasing unrest that has spread across the country.
"National connectivity [is] flatlining at ~1% of ordinary levels, after authorities imposed a national internet blackout in an attempt to suppress sweeping protests while covering up reports of regime brutality," the global monitoring group posted on X.
Human Rights Groups Condemn Unlawful Use Of Force, Arbitrary Arrests
Two prominent human rights groups have condemned the Iranian authorities' crackdown on the ongoing protests in the country, saying that the response has been marked by the unlawful use of force and arbitrary mass arrests.
In joint findings announced on January 8, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that at least 28 protesters and bystanders -- including children -- were killed by security forces between December 31 and January 3 in 13 cities across eight provinces of Iran. The wave of protests began on December 28 and has since spread to much of the country.
HRW said that it and Amnesty found evidence of security forces -- including the Iranian police and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) -- using "rifles, shotguns loaded with metal pellets, water cannons, tear gas, and beatings to disperse, intimidate, and punish largely peaceful protesters."
"The frequency and persistence with which the Iranian security forces have unlawfully used force, including lethal force, against protesters, combined with systematic impunity for members of the security forces who commit grave violations, indicate that the use of such weapons to crush protests remains entrenched as state policy," said Michael Page, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
"People in Iran daring to express their anger at decades of repression and demand fundamental change are once again being met with a deadly pattern of security forces unlawfully firing at, chasing, arresting, and beating protesters in scenes reminiscent of the Woman Life Freedom uprising of 2022. Iran’s top security body, the Supreme National Security Council, must immediately issue orders for security forces to stop the unlawful use of force and firearms," said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa."