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Iran’s leadership on Saturday maintained its blockage of the internet for the second day amid snowballing mass protests in a number of cities, network observers reported.<\/p>\n
NetBlocks, the global internet monitoring organization, posted on X that its “metrics show the nationwide internet blackout remains in place at 36 hours, severely limiting Iranians’ ability to check on the safety of friends and loved ones.”<\/p>\n
That post was made at 8 am (0530 GMT).<\/p>\n
On X, one user posted: “Another night of protests, another night of repression \u2014 and Iranians are still cut off from their loved ones because of the internet blackout.”<\/p>\n
The Iranian security services have completely shut down the internet for the population. except for its security forces and selected state media.<\/p>\n
According to reports, people are circumventing the blackout using Starlink satellite internet \u2013 provided they were able to illegally import the necessary terminals.<\/p>\n
Observers say the leadership has two main objectives with the blockade: To make it more difficult for demonstrators to organize protests, and to suppress the publication of reports, photos and videos about the unrest and reprisals.<\/p>\n
A wave of protests has roiled Iran for almost two weeks, triggered by a deepening economic crisis and a sharp plunge in the national currency, the rial.<\/p>\n
Spreading from Tehran to other large cities, the demonstrations quickly turned into political protests against the country’s authoritarian government.<\/p>\n
On Saturday the BBC reported that a doctor and a medic at two hospitals said their facilities are being overwhelmed by those injured during the protests.<\/p>\n
A doctor at a Tehran eye hospital said his facility was in crisis mode and a medic at a different facility said he did not know if enough surgeons were on hand to cope with the patient influx.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n