PARIS: Rights groups accused Iranian security forces of shooting at demonstrators as the death toll mounted on Thursday from a crackdown on economic protests and a watchdog reported an Internet blackout across the Islamic republic.
Twelve days of protests have troubled the clerical authorities under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei already battling an economic crisis after years of sanctions and recovering from the June war against Israel.
US President Donald Trump meanwhile threatened on Thursday to take severe action against Iran if its authorities “start killing people,” warning Washington would “hit them very hard.”
The movement, which originated with a shutdown on the Tehran bazaar on December 28 after the rial plunged to record lows, has spread nationwide and is now being marked by larger-scale demonstrations.
Videos on social media showed that protests were again taking place Thursday.
A large crowd was seen gathering on the vast Ayatollah Kashani Boulevard in the northwest of capital Tehran, according to social media images verified by AFP, while other images showed a crowd demonstrating in the western city of Abadan.
Local media and official statements have reported at least 21 people, including security forces, killed since the unrest began, according to an AFP tally.
On Wednesday, an Iranian police officer was stabbed to death west of Tehran “during efforts to control unrest,” the Iranian Fars news agency said.
But raising its own toll based on verified deaths, the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights said security forces had killed at least 45 protesters, including eight minors.
The NGO said Wednesday was the bloodiest day since the demonstrations began, with 13 protesters confirmed to have been killed.
“The evidence shows that the scope of the crackdown is becoming more violent and more extensive every day,” said IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, adding hundreds more have been wounded and more than 2,000 arrested.
Online watchdog Netblocks said on Thursday that “live metrics show Iran is now in the midst of a nationwide Internet blackout.”
‘Utmost restraint’
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian called for “utmost restraint” in handling demonstrations, saying “any violent or coercive behavior should be avoided.”
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, meanwhile, condemned the “excessive use of force” against protesters.
With the protests now spreading across Iran, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said rallies had taken place in 348 locations in all of Iran’s 31 provinces.
Reza Pahlavi, the son of the shah ousted by the 1979 Islamic revolution and a key exiled opposition figure, urged major new protests on Thursday.
Before the blackout, he warned that the “frightened” authorities could cut Internet access to prevent information filtering out.
Iraq-based Iranian Kurdish opposition parties called for a general strike on Thursday in Kurdish-populated areas in western Iran.
The Hengaw rights group said the call had been widely followed in some 30 towns and cities, posting footage of shuttered shops in the western provinces of Ilam, Kermanshah and Lorestan.
It accused authorities of firing on demonstrators in Kermanshah and the nearby town of Kamyaran to the north, injuring several protesters, as well as cutting the Internet in the region.
HRANA also posted footage it said showed security forces firing on protesters with handguns in Kermanshah.
IHR said a woman protester was shot directly in the eye during a protest late Wednesday in Abadan.
Protesters in Kuhchenar in the southern Fars province cheered overnight as they pulled down a statue of the former foreign operations commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US strike in January 2020, in a video verified by AFP.
‘Unlawful force’
Demonstrators are repeating slogans against the clerical leadership, including “Pahlavi will return” and “Seyyed Ali will be toppled,” in reference to Khamenei.
The movement has also spread to universities and final exams at a major university in Tehran, the Amir Kabir university, have been postponed for a week, according to ISNA news agency.
The protests are the biggest in Iran since the last major protest wave in 2022-2023 which was sparked by the custody death of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress code for women.
Rights groups have also accused authorities of resorting to tactics including raiding hospitals to detain wounded protesters.
“Iran’s security forces have injured and killed both protesters and bystanders,” said Amnesty International, accusing authorities of using “unlawful force.”
