Iran protests subside under sweeping crackdown and internet blackout as Reza Pahlavi vows return
TEHRAN — Mass protests that erupted across Iran a week ago have largely subsided under a sweeping security crackdown and a nationwide internet blackout, monitors said, even as opposition figure Reza Pahlavi urged fresh demonstrations and declared he would return to the country.
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The latest unrest began Dec. 28 with a shutdown in Tehran’s historic bazaar amid mounting economic grievances, then swiftly widened into the largest anti-government demonstrations in years, calling for an end to the clerical system established after the 1979 revolution.
The Institute for the Study of War, a U.S.-based group tracking the unrest, said the “brutal” repression has likely quieted the street movement for now but warned the security deployments are “unsustainable,” making a renewed wave of protests possible.
Casualty estimates vary widely and remain difficult to verify under the blackout. Norway-based Iran Human Rights said it has confirmed 3,428 protesters killed by security forces and cautioned the true toll could be several times higher. Other estimates put deaths at more than 5,000 and as high as 20,000. Iran International, an opposition Persian-language channel based abroad, said at least 12,000 people were killed, citing senior government and security sources. The figures could not be independently confirmed.
Internet monitor NetBlocks reported a “total internet blackout” in Iran that has lasted more than 180 hours, exceeding the duration of nationwide shutdowns imposed during protests in 2019. Amnesty International said the blackout has been accompanied by heavily armed patrols and checkpoints as authorities seek to crush “the nationwide popular uprising.”
Rights groups estimate up to 20,000 people have been arrested since the unrest began. The semi-official Tasnim news agency, citing security officials, reported about 3,000 arrests.
Pahlavi, the U.S.-based son of Iran’s last shah, used social media to call for a coordinated protest campaign this weekend, urging Iranians to “raise your voices in anger and protest with our national slogans.” At a news conference in Washington, he said, “The Islamic republic will fall — not if, but when,” adding, “I will return to Iran.”
International responses presented a mix of pressure and restraint. The U.S. Treasury announced new sanctions on Iranian officials, including Ali Larijani, identified as secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security. The White House said “all options remain on the table” for President Donald Trump, who has signaled he is watching closely for any executions of protesters and has not ruled out military action.
A senior Saudi official told AFP that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman led a “long, frantic, diplomatic last-minute effort to convince President Trump to give Iran a chance to show good intention,” suggesting Washington has stepped back for now.
In a phone call framed by the Kremlin as part of efforts to “facilitate de-escalation,” Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
At the United Nations Security Council in New York, Iranian-American journalist and activist Masih Alinejad said “all Iranians are united” against the clerical establishment. Iran’s representative, Gholamhossein Darzi, accused the United States of exploiting protests “for geopolitical purposes.”
Despite the apparent lull on the streets, analysts warned that the drivers of the unrest—economic strain, political repression and anger over governance—remain unresolved. With the internet still largely cut and security forces entrenched, the immediate risk of further bloodshed persists, even as opposition leaders seek to channel the moment into organized dissent in the days ahead.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
