TEHRAN — Large parts of Iran were cut off from the global internet on Thursday after a nationwide outage, according to internet monitoring organisation NetBlocks, as fresh protests over rising living costs and economic hardship continued across several cities.
The disruption left millions unable to access online services, with no immediate explanation provided by Iranian authorities for the blackout.
Witnesses in Tehran and the major cities of Mashhad and Isfahan told Reuters that demonstrators once again gathered in public spaces, chanting slogans against Iran’s clerical leadership amid growing public anger over worsening economic conditions.
Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s former Shah who was overthrown during the 1979 Islamic Revolution, urged Iranians to sustain protests in a video message posted on social media platform X on Wednesday.
Unverified social media reports suggested that demonstrators in several cities and towns chanted slogans in support of Pahlavi, though Reuters could not independently confirm those claims.
Iranian state media, however, reported that cities nationwide remained calm and under control.
The current demonstrations represent the largest wave of unrest in nearly three years. They began last month in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, where shopkeepers protested the sharp decline of the national currency, the rial.
Since then, unrest has spread across the country, fuelled by mounting frustration over soaring inflation, economic mismanagement, Western sanctions and ongoing restrictions on political and social freedoms.
Earlier on Thursday, President Masoud Pezeshkian warned domestic suppliers against hoarding goods or raising prices excessively, according to state media.
“People should not experience shortages in the supply and distribution of goods,” he said, instructing authorities to closely monitor markets and ensure price stability.
Iran continues to face international pressure, with US President Donald Trump warning that Washington could intervene in support of protesters if security forces resort to violence. The warning comes seven months after US and Israeli forces carried out airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.