Iran has seen a sharp escalation in unrest after thousands of people in Tehran and other cities poured into the streets or shouted slogans from their homes following a call for mass demonstrations by exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi.
Streets Erupt as Communications Go Dark
Witnesses in the capital said chanting broke out across multiple neighbourhoods late Thursday as protesters answered Pahlavi’s call to demonstrate at 8pm local time. Shouts of “Death to the dictator!” and “Death to the Islamic Republic!” echoed through the city, while others voiced support for the former monarchy, chanting, “This is the last battle! Pahlavi will return!”
Almost immediately after the protests began, internet access and phone lines across Iran were disrupted. Internet monitoring firm Cloudflare and advocacy group NetBlocks both reported widespread outages, attributing them to government interference. Calls to Iran from abroad, including from Dubai, failed to connect — a pattern that in the past has preceded heavy-handed crackdowns by authorities.
The demonstrations mark a new phase in protests that began in late December over Iran’s struggling economy and have since spread nationwide.
Rising Death Toll and Growing Pressure
The Norway-based Iran Human Rights organisation says at least 45 demonstrators have been killed by Iranian security forces since the unrest began. Meanwhile, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reports that more than 2,260 people have been detained and at least 39 killed amid violence linked to the protests.
Markets and bazaars in several cities closed in solidarity with demonstrators, adding to the pressure on Iran’s civilian government and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Despite the growing scale of unrest, Iranian officials have offered little acknowledgment of how widespread the protests have become.
Hardline media outlets appear to be taking the demonstrations seriously. The conservative Kayhan newspaper published a video suggesting security forces could use drones to identify protesters — a move likely aimed at intimidating would-be participants.
Pahlavi’s Call and the Question of Leadership
The protests are the first major test of whether Reza Pahlavi, whose father fled Iran just before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, can influence events inside the country. In a statement, Pahlavi urged Iranians to unite and make their voices heard, warning that the world was watching how the authorities respond.
“I warn the Islamic Republic, its leader and the Revolutionary Guard that suppression of the people will not go unanswered,” he said, referencing attention from the international community, including the United States.
Still, analysts say the movement remains largely leaderless — a factor that has undermined past uprisings. “The lack of a viable alternative has weakened previous protests in Iran,” wrote Nate Swanson of the Atlantic Council, noting that many potential leaders have been arrested, persecuted or forced into exile over the years.
International reactions continue to mount. US President Donald Trump has warned Tehran against violently suppressing peaceful protesters, while European Parliament President Roberta Metsola praised what she called the courage of Iranians demanding freedom and dignity.
As night-time protests continue and communication blackouts persist, it remains unclear whether the demonstrations will coalesce into a sustained movement — or provoke a more forceful response from the state.
