DUBAI, United Arab Emirates —Iran’s internet blackout deepened Friday as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned protesters the Islamic Republic would not back down and security forces tightened a nationwide crackdown that rights groups say has killed at least 62 people. The Iran internet blackout, which officials said was ordered by security authorities, has severed many phone calls and limited online reporting as demonstrations that began with economic grievances in late December spread into anti-government chants, Jan. 9, 2026.
Iran internet blackout tightens as protests spread and communications fail
Internet monitoring group NetBlocks reported a near-total loss of connectivity across the country, and Al Jazeera cited the group’s warning that the outage followed “a series of escalating digital censorship measures” as protests intensified. The disruption has left families outside Iran struggling to reach relatives, while journalists and rights groups have relied on scattered updates and videos that are difficult to verify quickly.
The unrest began with shopkeepers and merchants protesting the rapid decline of the rial and rising prices, then broadened into anti-government slogans in multiple cities. An Associated Press explainer described demonstrations across all 31 provinces and said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency has tracked more than 2,300 arrests, underscoring how difficult it has become to measure the scale of events amid the Iran internet blackout.
In a televised address, Khamenei accused demonstrators of acting for “foreign enemies” and said the state “will not back down in the face of vandals.” Tehran’s public prosecutor warned that people accused of sabotage or clashes with security forces could face death sentences, according to Reuters reporting on the widening crackdown and the Iran internet blackout. U.S. President Donald Trump also issued a warning to Iran’s leadership, saying: “You better not start shooting because we’ll start shooting too.”
Iranian rights group HRANA said it had documented at least 62 deaths since protests began Dec. 28, including 48 protesters and 14 members of the security forces, as well as more than 2,300 arrests. The Iran internet blackout has made independent verification difficult and reduced the steady flow of photos, livestreams and location-tagged posts that often help confirm where violence is occurring.
The Iran internet blackout has also disrupted travel. At least 17 flydubai flights scheduled between Dubai and Iranian cities including Tehran, Shiraz and Mashhad were canceled Friday, and other carriers also halted service, according to Reuters reporting based on airport schedules and airline statements.
Rights groups say the communications clampdown can obscure abuses as security forces move against protesters. Amnesty International USA said the Iran internet blackout “plunge[s] people into digital darkness” and prevents people inside the country from safely receiving and sharing information during unrest.
Why the Iran internet blackout is a familiar tactic
Iran has repeatedly restricted connectivity during unrest. During nationwide fuel-price protests in November 2019, an Amnesty International report said authorities deliberately shut down the internet as security forces carried out unlawful killings, limiting outside scrutiny. Separate technical analysis by the Open Observatory of Network Interference documented network-level patterns during the 2019 nationwide blackout and described how access was constrained across providers.
Accountability for that earlier crackdown remains a major point of contention. Human Rights Watch said in 2020 that Iranian authorities failed to provide meaningful accountability and continued to pressure families seeking answers.
For now, the Iran internet blackout is forcing Iranians and the outside world to piece together events from state media images, sporadic updates and videos that are hard to verify. With more demonstrations expected, the blackout is likely to remain central to the confrontation: a tool for authorities to control what can be documented, and a threat to families and rights monitors trying to determine what is happening, where, and to whom.
