Iranian protesters chanted and marched through the streets until Friday morning, following a call from exiled former Prince Reza Pahlavi to demonstrate, despite the Iranian theocracy cutting off the country from the internet and international phone calls.
Short online videos, mostly released before the blackout or through external channels, have been shared by activists, purportedly showing protesters chanting against the Iranian government around bonfires as debris littered the streets of the capital, Tehran, and other parts of the country.
Iranian state media broke their silence on Friday over the protests, claiming that “terrorist agents” from the United States and Israel had set fires and unleashed violence . They also claimed there had been “casualties,” without providing further details.
The full extent of the demonstrations could not be immediately determined due to a communications blackout, although they represented the latest escalation of protests that began over Iran’s dire economic situation and have become the most significant challenge to the government in recent years.
The protests also provided the first test of whether Iranian public opinion could be influenced by Reza Pahlavi , the son of Iran’s last Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who fled the country shortly before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The demonstrations included shouts of support for the Shah, a gesture that in the past could have resulted in a death sentence but now underscores the anger fueling the protests sparked by Iran’s economic crisis.
So far, the violence sparked by the demonstrations has resulted in the deaths of at least 42 people, while more than 2,270 have been arrested, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), an Iranian human rights organization.
Pahlavi, who had called for protests on Thursday evening, also renewed his call for demonstrations at 8 p.m. on Friday. “What changed the outcome of the protests was Reza Pahlavi’s call for Iranians to take to the streets at 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday,” said Holly Dagres, senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. ” It’s clear from social media posts that many Iranians have kept their word and are taking the call to protest against the Islamic Republic seriously.”
This is precisely why the internet was blocked: to prevent the world from seeing the protests. Unfortunately, it likely also provided cover for security forces to violently crack down on the protesters.
On Thursday, at the stroke of 8:00 PM, Tehran’s neighborhoods erupted in chants, according to witnesses. Among the chants were “Death to the dictator!” and “Death to the Islamic Republic!” Others chanted “This is the last battle! Pahlavi will return!” Thousands of people poured into the streets before all communication with Iran was cut off.
“Iranians demanded their freedom tonight. In response, the Iranian regime has cut all communication lines,” Pahlavi said. “It has blocked the internet. It has cut landlines. It may even try to block satellite signals.”
Pahlavi had stated that he would propose further initiatives based on the response to his appeal. His support for Israel, and that received from Israeli quarters, has drawn criticism in the past, particularly after a recent 12-day military escalation between Israel and Iran. Demonstrators have chanted support for the Shah at some rallies, but it is unclear whether this is direct support for Pahlavi or a desire to return to an era before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The internet outage also appears to have taken Iran’s state-run and semi-official news agencies offline. The state television broadcast at 8 a.m. Friday morning was the first official statement on the demonstrations.
State TV said the protests had seen incidents of violence that had resulted in casualties, without providing details, adding that during the demonstrations “private cars, motorcycles, public places such as the subway, fire trucks and buses were set on fire.”
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