Iran: Total internet blackout now for a week, reports of many deaths
A week ago, it was feared that the internet shutdown in Iran was intended to hide a bloody crackdown on protests. This has happened.
(Image: esfera/gonin/Shutterstock.com; heise online)
The total internet blockade in Iran has now lasted for more than a week, surpassing the longest nationwide internet shutdown from 2019. Netblocks pointed this out and also recalled that the full brutality of the crackdown on the protests at the time only became public when the internet was available again. It is to be feared that this is the case again this time, even though human rights organizations are already speaking of thousands dead. Netblocks also points out that there has been no partial or regional lifting of the internet ban so far; for more than a week, people in Iran have therefore had almost no contact with the outside world.
Last Thursday, the regime in Tehran began to block the internet throughout the country. This was a reaction to days of protests that had increased in intensity. Netblocks had pointed out at the time that the digital blackout could be used to crack down even harder on the demonstrations. This is exactly what then apparently happened: Over the weekend, more and more videos and images emerged from the country showing numerous deaths. This was apparently made possible thanks to Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet is likely used by tens of thousands in Iran. Later, however, the regime apparently succeeded in blocking Starlink connections as well. Since then, there has been even less information from the country.
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The reason for the harsh crackdown is apparently the fear of a revolution. This is the result of an analysis by US think tanks published on Wednesday. “The Iranian regime views the protests as a precursor to revolution that it must suppress completely and immediately,” write the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the American Enterprise Institute. At the same time, however, the regime has apparently succeeded in preventing US military intervention. Iran's foreign minister assured that there would be no executions as a result of the mass protests. US President Donald Trump had previously threatened a decisive response in that case.
In Germany, considering the events in Iran, numerous prominent figures, politicians, and organizations have called for the political, economic, and diplomatic isolation of the Islamic Republic, reports dpa. In a petition, they demand the immediate expulsion of the Iranian ambassador from Germany and the recall of the German ambassador from Tehran, as well as an immediate ban on the activities of the Revolutionary Guards in Germany. Furthermore, political discussions must be initiated with democratic, secular Iranian human rights organizations and opposition figures. A petition to this effect is to be published on Friday.
(mho)
