Head Of Iran Telecom Firm Fired Over Failure To Comply With Blackout
Fars News Agency reports that the head of one of Iran's largest telecommunications companies, Irancell, has been dismissed for "failure to comply with the rules" after the government decision to cut off Internet access nationwide amid mass protests.
The firing of CEO Alireza Rafiei followed "the operator’s actions during the protests on the morning of Saturday, January 10," the report said.
Irancell was founded in 2005 and has 70 million subscribers.
Fars quoted officials as saying that "Irancell disobeyed the orders of the decision-making institutions in implementing the announced policies regarding the restriction of internet access in crisis situations."
Fars, a media outlet close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, also quoted an official as saying: "The new appointment made for Alireza Rafiei will also be dealt with legally."
Iranian President Says Attack On Khamenei Would Mean 'War'
Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian, previously considered by many to be a relative moderate among Iran's rulers, on January 18 warned that an attack on the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would bring about an "all-out war."
"An attack on the great leader of our country is tantamount to a full-scale war with the Iranian nation," Pezeshkian said in a post on social media.
In a speech on January 17, Khamenei praised Pezeshkian's role in the suppression of recent demonstrations, while acknowledging that "several thousand" people had been killed during the protests.
US President Donald Trump has taken the forefront among Western leaders in calling out the Iranian regime for its brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters.
Trump told Politico in remarks published on January 17 that Khamenei was guilty of "the complete destruction of the country and the use of violence at levels never seen before" and said it was time to look for "new leadership" in Iran.
Read more in our latest news story here.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Meets with Masud Pezeshkian
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein met with Masud Pezeshkian late on January 18, continuing his official visit to Tehran.
According to the Tasnim News Agency, during the meeting, Hussein said that he had heard concerns from leaders and officials of other countries about tensions in Iran, emphasizing that the security of the region is interconnected.
Hussein also met with Abbas Araqchi, his Iranian counterpart, and Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.
In recent days, there have been reports of Iraqi militias being deployed to a number of Iranian cities to help the Islamic republic's suppression of protesters. Eyewitnesses say that some of the forces involved in the killing of protesters were not Iranian.
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.
Amid Brutal Repression In Iran, Exiles Abroad Call For Regime Change
In Romania, Iranian exiles are following events in Iran with a mix of fear and hope.
Anti-government protests, sparked by a dire economy and an oppressive regime, have escalated into deadly clashes with thousands of demonstrators estimated killed over the last three weeks by human rights groups.
Different activist groups have put the death toll far higher, but an internet blackout has made it difficult to verify the information.
Those who have moved abroad share insights on what's driving the calls for regime change in Tehran.
In our latest news wraps on Iran, we have details on the latest comments from an Iranian judiciary official who said that the "severest Islamic punishments" would be coming for those deemed "hostile."
Security Forces Reportedly Checking Citizens' Phones
A man in his 70s who left Iran on January 17 told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that “the feeling of martial law is completely in place at night."
"One of the reasons for that," he added, "is that the armed forces randomly stop cars. They check the entire car and also mobile phones. They ask people to unlock their phones.”
The security forces are then "checking citizens’ activities on social media as well as their phone photo galleries," he said, "looking for evidence of the individual’s presence at the protests.”
The Iranian man, who said he was stopped in an area north of Tehran and had heard the same thing from others. "That's why people are telling each other to stay home after 8 p.m.," he said.
Iranian Internet Connectivity Back To Almost Zero
There had been some positive signs that the Internet was starting to come back in Iran.
Monitoring data from NetBlocks showed that on January 17 the number of connected users had increased, albeit by a small amount.
However, NetBlocks later reported that despite the short-term and limited increase, internet connectivity quickly returned to and remains at "almost zero."
According to the latest NetBlocks report, as the outage enters its 10th consecutive day, there is still serious uncertainty as to whether the government intends to resume internet services any time soon.
Meanwhile, the state-run ISNA news agency reported on January 17, citing “relevant officials,” that the internet was to be reconnected “in a gradual and phased manner.” The news agency gave no further details and did not report on the timing or scope of a possible reconnection.
Iranians face a desperate struggle to share evidence of the regime's brutal crackdown amid a near-total internet blackout. Yet small cracks persist, with harrowing information still managing to trickle out.
The Telegram channel Civil Protest Bazaar wrote in a single message on January 17 that "the Rasht Bazaar has been completely destroyed" and that some bazaar owners in Iran "died along the way." The bazaar is a famous traditional market in the northern Iranian city of Rasht.
"We are trying to publish all images, documents, and narratives," the channel wrote. "Our channel has not been able to publish any posts for nine days now due to the government's internet shutdown. This silence is not out of indifference; it is the result of censorship, repression, and the closure of people's means of communication with the world."
The message continues: "In these days, a great crime has been committed. Defenseless people -- men and women, children and the elderly -- were the targets of a violence that history will not forget. We do not have exact figures, but we know that we are talking about thousands of people."
More Harrowing Accounts Of Violence As Some Iranians Flee
A growing number of Iranians who have left the country in recent days are describing a very heavy death toll from the authorities' crackdown.
An Iranian ophthalmologist who recently left the country told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that hospitals are struggling to treat all those injured in the protests and doctors are under immense pressure given the large amount of eye injuries.
"There are reports that security forces have taken away wounded patients from hospitals," the doctor said.
An Iranian citizen who recently traveled to Tajikistan told a correspondent for RFE/RL's Tajik Service that security forces are still out on the streets with "combat weapons" following the widespread protests.
To corroborate, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights organization announced that verified videos and credible reports from witnesses in Iran indicate widespread extrajudicial killings on an unprecedented scale.
Meanwhile, new videos from Iran appear to show government and plainclothes forces attacking citizens who have taken refuge in residential buildings in Tehran. According to the footage, which RFE/RL has not verified, security forces have used various firearms, batons, machetes, sticks, and lasers to suppress protesters.
Good morning from all of us at RFE/RL. While the news from Iran is slowing down, we're here for another day of live blogging.