Tens of thousands march across Iran despite internet blackout and threats

Tens of thousands of Iranians poured into the streets on Friday night in a second night of mass, nationwide antigovernment protests, despite a total internet blackout and threats of a severe crackdown from senior Iranian leaders. Videos posted on BBC Persian showed large marches in Tehran drawing supporters from working-class, middle-class and wealthy neighborhoods.

A resident of Saada’t Abad who asked to be identified only by her first name, Ladan, 60, said crowds set ablaze a mosque and paraded the royalist flag of the shah. Witnesses and videos verified by The New York Times or appearing on BBC Persian showed protests in Mashhad, Tabriz, Urumiyeh, Isfahan, Karaj, Yazd and other cities, with chants including “Death to the dictator” and “Long live the shah.” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an earlier speech called the demonstrators “rioters” doing the bidding of the United States and Israel, and a state television anchor warned parents not to let children go out.

Sanam Vakil of Chatham House said multiple forces were fueling the protests and that “people are truly fed up.” An engineer in Tehran, Amir Reza, said he heard gunfire and sound bombs as riot police and plainclothes militias fired in the air and chased crowds. The government shut down almost all communications — cutting the internet, blocking some international calls and disrupting domestic cellphone service, cybersecurity and internet freedom experts said.

Key Topics

World, Iran, Tehran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Revolutionary Guards, Internet Blackout