France, UK, Germany condemn ‘killing of protesters’ in Iran as internet blackout deepens unrest
France, the United Kingdom and Germany condemned what they called the “killing of protesters” in Iran and urged authorities to exercise restraint, as sweeping anti-government demonstrations and a nationwide internet blackout disrupted communications and stoked uncertainty across the country.
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“We are deeply concerned about reports of violence by Iranian security forces, and strongly condemn the killing of protestors,” French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a joint statement. “We urge the Iranian authorities to exercise restraint.”
The appeal came as footage circulating on social media — difficult to verify amid connectivity cuts — showed buildings and vehicles ablaze in multiple cities and crowds chanting against the leadership. Internet monitor NetBlocks said authorities had imposed a total connectivity blackout, with the country offline for about 12 hours in an effort to suppress the protests.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei struck a defiant tone in a televised address, denouncing demonstrators as “vandals” and “saboteurs” and accusing them of acting on behalf of émigré opposition groups and the United States. “Everyone knows the Islamic republic came to power with the blood of hundreds of thousands of honourable people; it will not back down in the face of saboteurs,” he said.
The protests, which have swept through several major cities, mark one of the most serious internal challenges to Iran’s theocratic system in years. Demonstrators have set fire to official buildings and shouted slogans including “death to the dictator,” echoing past eruptions of unrest but surfacing amid a deeper economic crisis and mounting international pressure.
In a Fox News interview, U.S. President Donald Trump said “enthusiasm to overturn that regime is incredible” and warned that if Iranian authorities respond by killing protesters, “we’re going to hit them very hard.” He suggested Khamenei, 86, “is looking to go someplace,” without providing evidence.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, called Iran’s response “disproportionate,” saying on X that “shutting down the internet while violently suppressing protests exposes a regime afraid of its own people.”
Iran’s fractured exiled opposition urged more rallies. Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the former shah, told Iranians in a social media post: “The eyes of the world are upon you. Take to the streets.” Trump said he would not meet Pahlavi and was “not sure that it would be appropriate” to back him.
State television aired images of burning buses, cars and motorbikes, and fires at metro stations and banks, blaming the unrest on the People’s Mujahedin Organisation, also known as the MKO. A state TV reporter described scenes on Shariati Street in the northern city of Rasht as resembling a “war zone,” with storefronts ransacked.
The government has adopted a dual-track response, acknowledging hardship-driven grievances while condemning what it calls violent rioters. Officials have warned of harsh penalties; a public prosecutor has threatened death sentences for those deemed responsible for serious violence. Independent reporting has been constrained by the internet blackout, and casualty figures could not be verified.
While the protests have not matched the nationwide scale of 2022 demonstrations sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, they pose the most significant internal test to the authorities since then. The turmoil comes as Iran grapples with a worsening economy and renewed global sanctions over its nuclear program, reimposed since September, which have deepened inflation and eroded purchasing power.
With calls for further protests circulating despite the blackout and security forces deployed in force, the confrontation showed no sign of easing. Western capitals pressed Tehran to step back. Whether Iran’s leadership chooses further crackdowns or compromise will shape a volatile period in a country where anger over economic collapse and political repression is converging on the streets.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
