Mass protests erupt in Iran, internet cut off: Trump threatens to 'hit the regime hard'

Widespread demonstrations have shaken Tehran and other cities in Iran this Thursday night, in what is seen as the biggest escalation of protests against the economic crisis and the regime for years, after the exiled prince Reza Pahlavi publicly called for nationwide mobilizations. Shortly after the protests began, internet access and phone lines were disrupted, apparently on orders from high-ranking officials, according to digital monitoring groups and witnesses.

Protests and support for the exiled prince

Thousands of people took to the streets in the capital and numerous neighborhoods of Tehran following the call by Pahlavi, heir to the former shah of Iran and son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who fled the country just before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The demonstrators chanted anti-regime slogans, including shouts of "Death to the dictator," and "Pahlavi will return," expressing both their rejection of the regime and their frustration over Iran's severe economic crisis, the media outlet reported.

Pahlavi had urged in a message, "great nation of Iran ... take to the streets ... and proclaim its demands," and warned the Iranian leadership, including the Revolutionary Guard, that the world and President Donald Trump were watching closely.

Economic crisis and repression

The protests are rooted in the country's deepening economic crisis, marked by tougher sanctions and the collapse of the rial, which in December traded at more than 1.4 million to the dollar. The unrest began on Dec. 28 with demonstrations by traders and quickly spread to at least 25 of the country's 31 provinces, according to an AFP tally based on local media and official sources.

So far at least 41 people are reported to have died and more than 2,270 have been detained as part of the protests, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Communications blackout

Organizations specializing in Internet monitoring, such as Cloudflare and NetBlocks, confirmed widespread disruptions to internet service in Iran, attributed to government actions to control the flow of information. Telephone communications, both fixed and mobile, were also blocked, consistent with previous patterns of digital blackouts applied at times of social unrest.

Violence and regime response

While Iranian authorities have not provided full official figures on the extent of the protests, state media reported clashes that have left members of the armed forces dead or injured, including reports of a police colonel killed in a stabbing and shootings in several provinces.

Amid the protests, dissident figures such as Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi remain imprisoned after being arrested in December 2025.