Iran protests sweep nation despite internet shutdown

Iran’s regime has cut off communications in a bid to stem anti-government unrest gripping the country, while the exiled shah’s son calls for more protests.

Iranian protesters are shouting and marching through the streets after a call by the country’s exiled crown prince for demonstrations, despite Iran’s theocracy cutting off the nation from the internet and international telephone calls.

Short online videos shared by activists purported to show protesters chanting against Iran’s government around bonfires as debris littered the streets in the capital, Tehran, and other areas.

Iranian state media broke its silence Friday over the protests, alleging “terrorist agents” of the US and Israel set fires and sparked violence.

It also said there were “casualties” without elaborating.

The full scope of the demonstrations could not be immediately determined due to the communications blackout, though it represented yet another escalation in protests that began over Iran’s ailing economy and that has morphed into the most significant challenge to the government in several years.

The protests also represented the first test of whether the Iranian public could be swayed by Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, whose fatally ill father fled Iran just before the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Demonstrations have included cries in support of the shah, something that once could bring a death sentence but now underlines the anger fuelling the protests that began over Iran’s ailing economy.

Violence around the demonstrations has killed at least 42 people while more than 2270 others have been detained, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said.

Pahlavi, who called for protests on Thursday night, similarly has called for demonstrations at 8pm on Friday (2.30am on Saturday AEDT).

“What turned the tide of the protests was former Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi’s calls for Iranians to take to the streets at 8pm on Thursday and Friday,” said Holly Dagres, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

“It became clear that Iranians had delivered and were taking the call seriously to protest in order to oust the Islamic Republic.

“This is exactly why the internet was shut down: to prevent the world from seeing the protests.

“Unfortunately, it also likely provided cover for security forces to kill protesters.”

When the clock struck 8pm on Thursday, neighbourhoods across Tehran erupted in chanting, witnesses said.

The chants included “Death to the dictator!” and “Death to the Islamic Republic!” Others praised the shah, shouting: “This is the last battle! Pahlavi will return!”

Thousands could be seen on the streets before all communication to Iran was cut off.

“Iranians demanded their freedom tonight. In response, the regime in Iran has cut all lines of communication,” Pahlavi said.

He went on to call for European leaders to join US President Donald Trump in promising to “hold the regime to account”.

“I call on them to use all technical, financial, and diplomatic resources available to restore communication to the Iranian people so that their voice and their will can be heard and seen,” he said.

His support of and from Israel has drawn criticism in the past, particularly after the 12-day war Israel waged on Iran in June.

The state TV acknowledgment on Friday represented the first official word about the demonstrations.

State TV claimed the protests saw violence that caused casualties, but did not elaborate.

Iran has faced rounds of nationwide protests in recent years.

As sanctions tightened and Iran struggled after the 12-day war, its rial currency collapsed in December, reaching 1.4 million to $US1.

Protests began soon after, with demonstrators chanting against Iran’s theocracy.

Trump warned last week that if Tehran “violently kills peaceful protesters”, America “will come to their rescue”.

In an interview with talk show host Hugh Hewitt aired on Thursday, Trump reiterated his pledge.

with AP