Iranian authorities state they will restrict internet access in the country until calm is restored to the streets, as protests over the death of a 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police shake the Islamic Republic.
Since Friday, demonstrations have taken place in at least 40 cities nationwide, including the capital Tehran, with protesters demanding an end to violence and discrimination against women as well as an end to compulsory wearing of the hijab.
Dozens of protesters have reportedly been killed in the resulting clashes with security forces. According to state media Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, 35 people have died.
Authorities in the north Iran stated that Saturday they arrested 739 people, including 60 women, on charges of taking part in demonstrations.
People across the country are chanting for „death to the dictator”, tearing down portraits of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In Mashhad, Khamenei’s birthplace, protesters set fire to the statue of a man considered one of the symbols of the Islamic Revolution.
The move to further restrict the internet also followed a call by the United Nations for an independent investigation into Amini’s death and for Iran’s security forces to refrain from using „disproportionate force” on the protesters.
The US announced on Friday that it was easing export restrictions to improve Iranians’ access to the internet, which the Tehran government has severely restricted since Amini’s death in what the US said was an attempt „to prevent the world from watching its violent crackdown on peaceful protesters”.
„In the face of these steps, we are going to help make sure the Iranian people are not kept isolated and in the dark”, said the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken. „This is a concrete step to provide meaningful support to Iranians demanding that their basic rights be respected”.
