Watchdog Warns Of 'Information Vacuum' Amid Iran's Internet Blackout
The watchdog NetBlocks said that Iran's Internet blackout had passed the 156-hour mark early on January 15, "as the silence deepens" amid the regime's violent crackdown on protesters.
It also warned about the spread of misinformation regarding the protests, the government's response, and the death toll -- which as of January 14 stood at more than 2,400 protesters killed, according to the US-based rights group HRANA. Because of the blackout, however, many warn that the true number may be much higher.
"The online information vacuum is resulting in the amplification of pro-regime accounts, AI fakes, and other agendas," NetBlock said in a post on X.
We are now closing the live blog for today. We'll be back again tomorrow morning to follow all the ongoing developments in Iran at 7:30 a.m. Central European time.
A Design Student 'Shot From Behind' Is Among Countless Victims Of Iran Crackdown
Robina Aminian, a 23-year-old Kurdish woman studying fashion design in Tehran, is among thousands of victims who have died during an Iranian state crackdown on anti-government protesters. Her relatives say she was shot in the back of the head at close range. Aminian's aunt, who lives in Norway, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that she wants "to share this crime with the whole world," even as an Internet blackout is preventing more details of the violence from emerging.
Trump Says Executions Of Iran Protesters 'Has Stopped'
US President Donald Trump has said he 'has it on good authority' that Iran has ceased putting protesters to death amid the recent unrest.
“We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping -- it’s stopped -- it’s stopping,” Trump said at the White House during a legislation-signing ceremony on January 14. “And there’s no plan for executions, or an execution, or executions -- so I’ve been told that on good authority,” the Associated Press reported.
Trump did not specify who had provided him with these assurances, but said he’d “been informed by very important sources on the other side.”
His comments came hours after Iranian authorities had indicated that fast-track trials and executions could be expected for suspects detained in the country's nationwide demonstrations.
UK Temporarily Closes Embassy In Tehran
The British Embassy in Tehran has been closed to the time being, the UK government said on January 14.
"We have temporarily closed the British Embassy in Tehran, this will now operate remotely," said a govrnment spokesman quoted by Reuters. "Foreign Office travel advice has now been updated to reflect this consular change. "
A UK official also told reporters that Britain's ambassador to Iran and all consular staff based on a security and safety assessment.
Shirin Ebadi Calls for 'Targeted Action' by the US Against Khamenei And Senior Commanders
Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi has said that the United States should consider taking "highly targeted actions against Iran's supreme leader and senior commanders of the Revolutionary Guard."
In an interview with the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, Ebadi also urged the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to disrupt Iran’s state media using jamming technology.
Ebadi also described the current crackdown inside Iran as "a disproportionate war."
"Today, security forces are out there, among the people, using military-grade weapons," She said. "They are killing civilians. What is happening really is a full-scale war in Iran."
Iran Human Rights Says At Least 3,428 Protesters Killed So Far
- By RFE/RL
The Oslo-based organization Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) says that at least 3,428 protesters have been killed and thousands injured since the start of anti-government protests in Iran on December 28.
In a statement issued on January 14, the rights group said that this number "only includes cases verified directly by IHRNGO or through two independent sources and is supported by hospital and morgue documentation."
The group also said it had learned from sources within Iran’s Health Ministry that at least 3,379 protester deaths were recorded between January 8 and January 12 alone.
IHRNGO also warned that the actual death toll could be far higher than the reported figures.
According to the report, more than 10,000 people have also been arrested during the protests.
The organization said it had "also received numerous reports of wounded individuals being “finished off,” with witnesses reporting that this occurred both on the streets and in medical facilities."
IHRNGO further warned of the risk of mass executions of detained protesters following what it described as “show trials,” and urged the international community "to prevent the atrocities and protect the people of Iran."
Iranian Woman Describes Indiscriminate Killing Amid Deadly Protest Crackdown
RFE/RL's Radio Farda has spoken to an Iranian woman who says every day she hears from friends and colleagues of another person killed amid the country's protest crackdown, including a pregnant bystander on her way home. The death toll is at more 2,400 protesters, according to the US-based human rights monitor HRANA. But many groups fear the number is far higher. The woman, who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons, recently traveled outside Iran, where a digital blackout continues to block access to the Internet.
Days after a protester was filmed pulling down the national flag from the Iranian Embassy in London, the same thing happened in Madrid yesterday.
Like the incident in the UK capital on January 10, the Madrid footage appears to show a man climbing the balcony of the embassy in the Spanish capital on January 13 and replacing the flag with the pre-Islamic revolution flag, featuring a lion and sun, which is frequently used by Iranian opposition groups.