Iranians took to the streets in new protests against the clerical authorities overnight despite an internet shutdown, as rights groups warned on Jan. 11 that authorities were committing a "massacre" to quell the demonstrations.
The protests, initially sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, have now become a movement against the theocratic government that has ruled Iran since the 1979 revolution and have already lasted two weeks.
Videos posted to social media showed large crowds taking to the streets in new protests in several Iranian cities including the capital Tehran and Mashhad in the east, where images showed vehicles set on fire.
The videos filtered out despite a total shutdown of the internet in Iran that has rendered impossible normal communication with the outside world via messaging apps or even phone lines.
The internet blackout "is now past the 60 hour mark... The censorship measure presents a direct threat to the safety and wellbeing of Iranians at a key moment for the country's future", monitor Netblocks said early on Jan. 11.
Several circulating videos allegedly showed relatives in a Tehran morgue identifying bodies of protesters killed in the crackdown.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said it had confirmed the deaths of 116 people in connection with the protests, including 37 members of the security forces or other officials.
But activists warned that the shutdown was limiting the flow of information and the actual toll risks being far higher.
The US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said it had received "eyewitness accounts and credible reports indicating that hundreds of protesters have been killed across Iran during the current internet shutdown.”
"A massacre is unfolding in Iran. The world must act now to prevent further loss of life," it said.
It said hospitals were "overwhelmed", blood supplies were running low and that many protesters had been shot in the eyes in a deliberate tactic.
National police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said authorities made "significant" arrests of protest figures on Jan. 10 night, without giving details on the number or identities of those arrested, according to state TV.
Meanwhile, Iran's parliament speaker warned the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America strikes the Islamic Republic, as threatened by President Donald Trump.
Qalibaf made the threat as lawmakers rushed the dais in the Iranian parliament, shouting, “Death to America!”
Those abroad fear the information blackout will embolden hard-liners within Iran's security services to launch a bloody crackdown, despite warnings from Trump he's willing to strike the Islamic Republic to protect peaceful demonstrators.
