Anti-government protests in Iran appeared to accelerate on Jan. 9, sparked by anger over the collapse of the country's currency and a broader sense of hopelessness and disillusionment with Tehran's clerical leaders.
NetBlocks, an internet watchdog, said that its data showed that Iran's authorities had imposed a nationwide internet blackout and other forms of strict digital censorship amid the unrest. This makes it difficult to draw definitive conclusions about the scale and severity of the demonstrations and the government's response.
But some videos and images have slipped out, published onsocial media by opposition groupsand human rights monitors. In some, protesters can be heard calling for the overthrow of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the return of the exiled son of Iran's last king, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. Iran's last shah, as he is known, was overthrown by Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. His son and heir, alsoReza Pahlavi, lives in Virginia.
Iran's religious rulers have for years struggled to bridge the gap between their theocratic priorities and the expectations of a young society that seeks more social, economic and political freedoms.
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Some videos and images appeared to show protesters met with tear gas amid violent street confrontations. The U.S.-basedHuman Rights Activists News Agencyreported that at least 34 protesters and four security personnel have been killed and 2,200 arrested over the last 12 days.Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based monitoring group, said at least 45 protesters, including eight children, have been killed by Iran's security forces.
However, the demonstrations, which began in Tehran last month and have spread to all of Iran's 31 provinces, have yet to reach the scale of unrest that started in 2022 and carried over into 2023 and were ignited by thedeath of Mahsa Amini, according to the monitoring groups. The 22-year-old died while in police custody after being detained for allegedly violating Islamic dress codes. Members of Iran's "Guidance Patrol" − its so-called morality police − claimed Amini was wearing her hijab incorrectly when she was arrested.
Iran does not maintain diplomatic relations with the United States. A representative for Iran's mission to the United Nations, in New York, did not immediately respond to a comment request on the current protests, which started in Tehran with shopkeepers in the city's Grand Bazaar angered by a sharp slide in the rial currency. They have since evolved to include mainly young men rather than the women and girls who played a key role in the Amini protests.
In a post on X,Pahlavi saidthat "millions of Iranians" have been demanding "their freedom." He also thankedPresident Donald Trump, who recently warned Iran's leaders that the U.S. will intervene if peaceful protesters are killed. Iranian state media has downplayed the scale of the protests, posting videos of empty streets. The Pentagon bombed Iran's nuclear facilities in August 2025 as part of an Israel-Iran war that lasted 12 days.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Iranian street protests grow amid internet blackout
